Justice League-Let It Begin
by CB1610
Summary: A re-imaginings of the first team up of Earth's greatest heroes. An amazon, a kryptonian, a billionaire, a human lightning bolt, an atlantean, an archer, a martian, and two soldiers must join together to stop an evil entity. A little combination of multiple versions of DC lore such as the comics, the CW shows, the animated shows, and more!
1. Chapter 1-Let It All Begin

**Chapter 1-Let It All Begin**

Themyscira. 2800 BC.

"Αφήστε το να ξεκινήσει! Αφήστε το να ξεκινήσει! Αφήστε το να ξεκινήσει!"

The chants would be heard from miles away. Sailors could hear it from miles away and would either mistake it for the sound of seagulls or retell the experience in the form of stories and myths.

The lush, tropical island was surrounded in a hazy mist, enchanted to prevent others from discovering its location. Waves sprayed across the grand cliffs that stood above the blue ocean as within the heart of the island, a gathering was occurring.

Women of all sorts gathered at a small rocky hill in the middle of a canyon, clouds of mist surrounding the rocky chasms. Most of them were dressed in ancient armor, some fresh and golden while others rusty from years of fighting. They beat their spears onto the ground as the chant grew even lounder. They were in formation, lining up at the sides of the hill as a glorious woman walked forward, women in dark robes following behind her, marching up the stairs of the hill.

The leader of the group wore a furry cloak made of lion skin, silver armor covering her body and a bright, white crown wrapping around her head. She had light brown hair and olive-brown skin, a stern look on her face as she looked ahead.

At the top of the stony hill was a marble temple, small and quaint, with only a few small pillars that shouldn't have lasted this long. The group of women slowly edged closer to the temple, removing ceremonial braziers and candles from their cloaks. Once they finally reached the top, they placed their braziers next to the pillars.

Another one of the women appeared, a flaming stick in hand as she lit the braziers and blew off the torch. The cloaked women and the girl with the torch walked back down as their leader stood at the top, turning around to face her brethren.

"Amazons of Themyscira, my sisters, the time has come", she spoke, "For years, we have prayed for a savior, prayed for protection from our enemies, prayed for a divine gift from the gods to guard this island and our way of life. Some of you may believe that our prayers fall on deaf ears, that the gods no longer remember our service to them and have abandoned us. But my sisters, can you not feel it? The winds of change? The longer days and the shorter nights? The lack of storms and the sunnier skies? The gods are preparing something for us...and it will be glorious. My Amazons, let the angels of the sky and the demons below know the truth. Let them hear our cries of battle. Let them know that we have a protector."

She looked to the sky as the chants grew louder.

"Αφήστε το να ξεκινήσει! Αφήστε το να ξεκινήσει! Αφήστε το να ξεκινήσει!"

The sun shone brighter and the wind blowed stronger, her cloak flying behind her. The queen smiled as she basked the golden rays of light, feeling something within her.

"Αφήστε το να ξεκινήσει! Αφήστε το να ξεκινήσει! Αφήστε το να ξεκινήσει!"

All of a sudden, the ground behind the queen lifted up, a perfect, large rectangle of marble shining in the light. Its silver beauty caused the women to gasp in surprise, some even backing away in fear. The temple began to rumble slightly, the queen stood her ground.

Out of nowhere, from the sky, something flew straight into the temple, a burst energy erupting and dust spraying everywhere. The energy burst hit the Amazons, all of them falling to the ground unconscious as blue power sparked around the area.

After an hour or so, the group of women finally got up, trying to shrug off the pain. Some of the soldiers were able to struggle to their feet and tried to run to the hill, screaming for their leader. Clouds of black dust still covered the landscape

One of the soldiers ran ahead, "My lord?! MY LORD?!"

They searched through the dust, trying to find their lord. The clouds were too deep to see through anything and they felt fear grip their hearts.

Was their queen gone?

"Calm yourself, Antiope. I am alright."

Antiope gasped, looking over to where she heard the voice. The soldiers edged towards to where they heard the voice, swords ready. What came from the dust shocked them.

Their queen walked out of the dust, completely unharmed by whatever struck the temple. She was beaming with joy as she carried something in her arm, something bundled in a red cloak. Crying was heard as Antiope quickly ran over to see what her sister was holding.

It was a child.

An infant baby...made of stone and clay.

She looked human for the most part, with light brown skin and small limbs. Her skin looked both human and inanimate at the same time, an odd shiny glare on her skin. She cried her lungs (?) out as she gripped onto the queen, who was smiling at her.

The Amazons' eyes widened, "M...My lord…?"

Hippolyta smiled, "My sisters, I present to you our savior….the protector of Themyscira."

…

Days passed as the vessel soared through space. After a week, the vessel finally entered the Solar System, targeting the third planet to the sun. The vessel slowed down as the ship began to light up from the inside.

Inside the ship was a small orb, glowing bright blue. It was perfectly round and small, staying still for the entire ride.

An odd noise rung out from the orb as it shook violently, its DNA being rewritten.

After a minute, the orb slowly turned into a screaming, crying human infant.

…

Smallville, Kansas. 1977.

The couple ran over to where they heard the explosion. Flashlights in hand, they ran through the crop fields, scared by what they'd find.

They were a young couple, wearing simple rural clothing. The husband had tanned skin, clearly of hispanic descent, with dark hair and a lantern-shaped jaw. He wore a red shirt with blue overalls.

The woman had light brown hair and bright skin, wearing a collar shirt. She looked around the area, wondering where that odd meteor they saw falling from the sky landed.

"JONATHAN!", the woman shouted, "OVER HERE!"

Jonathan quickly ran over to where his wife, Martha, was pointing. He lost his breath the second he saw it, "Dear god."

Right in front of them was a vessel, steam billowing from the metal. Smoke billowed from the charred ground, a large crater being formed by the rocket's landing.

The couple warily walked closer to the vessel, Jonathan guarding his wife in fear.

"What in God's name is this?", Martha asked in fear.

"I have no idea", Jonathan answered, "But be careful. We have no idea what this is."

Suddenly, the top of the rocket began to peel back, causing the couple to jump back.

"What the-?!", Jonathan yelled in shock. He quickly handed the flashlight to his wife and prepared to fight whatever was in there.

"WAAAAAAAHHHH! WAAAAAAAHHHH!"

The two looked up, confused.

"Is that...Is that a baby?", Martha asked, both scared and confused. The two looked at one another and carefully walked towards the ship, looking inside to see a crying child, swaddled in blue and red cloth.

"How in the he-How is that possible?", Jonathan wondered confused.

"It's a...a baby boy?", Martha spoke up confused.

"What the hell is this?", Jonathan asked, "Some sort of….government thing? Maybe the Russians?"

Martha began to reach over to pick up the child before Jonathan quickly grabbed her arm, "What the hell do you think you're doing, Martha?!"

"Jon, it's a child! He's crying!", Martha shouted in defense.

"We don't even know where it came from! We don't even know if it's a real child!", Jonathan cried out in protest.

"Jonathan, don't be a fool!", Martha pushed her husband off of her and proceeded to lift up the boy, rocking it back and forth. "Shhhh. Shhshhshh! There there. Calm down now, it's okay. It's okay."

The baby began to stop crying, finally settling down and falling back to sleep. Martha smiled, watching the child doze off.

"Ohh, he looks so cute!", Martha smiled, "Jonny, you have to see him, dear! He looks so adorable?...Jonathan?"

Martha looked over her shoulder and was surprised to see her husband dragging the ship out of the crater, grunting heavily.

"JONATHAN!"

"WHAT?! We can make a lot of money with this down at Walton's!"

After Jonathan finally placed the rocket at the back of his truck and placed a tarp over it, the two drove off, Martha still holding the baby.

"Okay, I say we go to the station, drop the child off, and then head back to the house", Jonathan decided, "Would you stop cradling the baby?"

Martha ignored her husband, continuing to rock the child back and forth. The child looked up at the woman and, unless Martha's eyes were tricking them, the child smiled.

"Jonathan", Martha finally spoke after five minutes driving, "Remember when we went to Doctor Jamie...When we checked to see if we could…"

Jonathan looked over at his wife and sighed, frowning, "Yeah...I remember…"

"...What if this is a gift for us? A second chance?"

"What are you talki-The kid? What are you trying to say?"

They finally entered the parking lot of the police station and stopped the truck. Jonathan rubbed his eyes, trying to understand what his wife was suggesting.

"...We don't even know if the kid has any parents, Jonny. What if it turns out nobody knows who he is? They could send him off to the orphanage or foster care. What type of life is that, to live without a mother or father?"

"We don't even know if we're ready for this. This is a kid we're talking about here. A kid we found in a rock-You know what, don't mention the rocket, we can't explain that, but how are we supposed to take care of him? How do we even know he's human?!"

"Jonathan….when your father left…"

"Jesus Christ, don't start."

"When your father left, you remember how you felt. You remember feeling alone, as if no one was listening to you, as if you had nobody."

"I had my momma."

"Well, this boy may not even have a mother, Jonathan! What he'd go through would be even worse! Worse than that!"

Jonathan was quiet for a few minutes before speaking, "You really think that this is the right thing to do, Martha?"

"Jonathan, if you had a heart, you wouldn't need me to tell you that", Martha said before holding her husband's hand. Jonathan looked down at the child, watching as it began to giggle. He slowly reached over and picked it up, seeing something in the baby's eyes: a little bit of himself.

Jonathan sighed, "I swear, Martha, this better be worth it."

…

Gotham City, New Jersey. 1986.

It seemed like a typical night in the city, once again police sirens rung throughout the city and red and blue lights flashing everywhere.

A police car arrived at the small area of the city known by some as Crime Alley. Two men exited the vehicle, one of them being a young man with messy brown hair and a mustache. He wore a police uniform and was clearly a new guy. He looked up and saw what was going on, his eyes widening.

In front of him were two bodies, forensics busy photographing them. The rookie waltzed around the caution tape and looked at the bodies, quickly recognizing the two.

The corpses were of a man and a woman, both seeming to be in their late 30s or early 40s. The man had neatly done hair and a mustache, his eyes facing the woman next to them. He wore a blood-soaked tuxedo under a brown coat. The woman seemed to be younger, wearing a black coat and a broken white necklace around her neck, white pearls surrounding her. The rookie faltered, realizing who they were.

Thomas and Martha Wayne, the beloved family of Gotham.

"Jesus", he muttered. The Waynes were dead. The richest family in the city have passed. How this could affect the city was unimaginable. The rookie looked around the crime scene, trying to comprehend what was going down. That's when he saw the boy.

He was young with dark black, combed hair and a blanket wrapped around his thin, frail body. Tears were flowing down his eyes as he stared off into nothing, not making a single noise. The man interviewing the child wasn't able to get any of his questions answered from the child and simply walked off, frustrated. The rookie watched and made sure no one was looking before walking over to the boy, kneeling down in front of him.

"Umm...Do you need anything right now, kid?", the rookie asked, "Anything?"

The kid didn't respond, barely even acknowledging the man's existence.

"...Okay, I understand", the rookie nodded, "...When I was a kid, my father was killed. We were just driving around and he didn't even see the man crash right into the car….It was tough, seeing this incredible man be killed by some worthless idiot, it was hard to even believe...When it happened, I didn't know what to do, but...I just had to keep going, keep fighting...I know this may sound stupid to you, but if we're going to catch the man who did this, we need you to tell us what happened."

The boy still didn't respond, still staring off into space. The rookie nodded before walking off when suddenly..

"Bruce."

The rookie turned around and walked back, "What, son?"

"Bruce. My name is Bruce."

The rookie smiled, "..Nice to meet you, Bruce. I'm Jim."

...

Central City, Missouri. 1997.

Everything in the house was crashing. Every object was spinning around the living room in a cyclone of insanity. Yellow and red light shined everywhere, as if a storm was happening right in the middle of the house.

A young boy with brownish-black hair watched as his mother screamed in the middle of the room, random shards of glass and wood slicing at her skin. The child screamed as he saw what looked like a yellow bolt of lightning spinning around his home, slowly killing his mother.

The mother, in the middle of being killed, tried to find the strength to lift her head and up and look at her child, "BARRY! RUN!" Suddenly, the cyclone stopped and the bolt stopped moving. In less than a second, every single object that was spinning around the place stopped moving and was placed down in their original positions, as if nothing happened. In less than a second, the bolt of lightning disappeared.

In less than a second, his mother was suddenly lying on her back, looking up at the ceiling, a shard of glass sticking out from her belly.

"MOM!", the boy screamed, running to his mother to help. He ran to her, only to not even be in the living room the second he blinked his eyes.

He was somehow in the middle of the street, a full five miles away from his house. He turned around trying to see where he was when he saw it. For a split second, he saw it.

It wasn't a man. It didn't even look a person. It looked a demon straight out of hell, a blur of pure energy. The creature stood right there but it was also constantly moving at the same time. A living creature of yellow and red electricity. And its eyes...pure scarlet bolts of lightning. The child swore that he could hear the freak screeching with laughter before it disappeared as quickly as it appeared.

Scared and desperate to save his mother, he started running. Running as fast as he could.

He saw police cars pass right by him, none of them even acknowledging his existence. Tears fell off of his face as he finally reached his house, his feet scratched from running.

Cops were everywhere around the house, yellow tape being placed around the place. Barry watched as his father was dragged out of the house and thrown into a police car.

"LET ME GO! LET ME GO! I DIDN'T DO IT! PLEASE!", he screamed. Blood covered his white shirt as he banged on the window of the car.

"DAD!", Barry screamed, "DAD!"

He ran to the car, trying to open the door before some of the cops ran up and dragged him away.

"DAD!"

"BARRY!", the man shouted, "Barry, I need you to listen to me! You have to stay calm! Stay calm, Barry!"

"LET ME GO! LET HIM GO! DAD!", Barry screamed.

"Barry, everything is going to be fine! Everything is going to be okay!", the child's father shouted, "Just let the men do their job and everything will be fine!"

"PLEASE, DAD! NO!"

The car started up and began to drive away.

"STAY SAFE, BARRY! I NEED YOU TO KNOW THAT! I LOVE YOU AND SO DOES YOUR MOTHER!"

The car drove off as the young child tried to run after it, "DAD! DAD!"

Suddenly, someone grabbed the boy and pulled him close. He was a middle-aged officer, with dark skin and a beard. On his coat was a police badge and on his belt was a small pistol.

"It's okay, Barry. It's okay."

"Dad, no", Barry whimpered, falling to the ground and crying.

…

D.E.O. Headquarters. 1998.

" _Stay calm...Stay calm…"_

The man walked through the hallways, looking around. Thoughts flooded his mind as he tried to understand what he was getting himself into. He was an...African-American ( _Apparently, this world classifies their species by heritage. Odd but no different from Mars._ ) He was nearing his 50s ( _No one here knew his official age. This may make things difficult._ ) And he was...the head of this department of...extra-normal operations ( _...Damn, this will not be simple._ )

( _Especially since I was the target of one of those operations_ )

"Director Henshaw."

The man turned to see one of the workers salute him before walking away. The man raised his eyebrows in surprise. _Sign of respect. Must get used to that. Must learn how to react to it._

He passed others before entering a large room, glowing silver and blue. He saw an enormous screen filled with maps and data. He saw men and women of all shapes and sizes walking around working. Some were grouped around a large table in the center. Others carried weapons to their rightful locations. Their thoughts, their ideas flooded his mind. He nearly fainted before he exited the room. He entered a small room where he could compose himself. He rubbed his temple before morphing back to his true form.

His eyes glowed red and his skin became green. His forehead grew incredibly large and his mouth disappeared entirely from his face. Red tattoos covered his green face, one on his chin, on going down his forehead, and two above each cheek. The back of his head and the sides of his neck were translucent, allowing the organs of the creature to be visible. Spikes lined the back of his neck, going down to the center of his back. He would've grown out of his clothes if he hadn't stopped shapeshifting. Before anyone saw him, he quickly shifted back, now regaining the energy to stay in this human form.

 _Stay calm...Stay calm...For the sake of others…_

…

Amnesty Bay, Maine. 2000.

The sunset was spectacular, especially when you see it from the cliffsides of the beach. The hues, the colors, they truly gave the ocean life and beauty. For a minute, Arthur felt as though he could forget about all of his troubles and simply relax. But how could he relax when he just lost the only family he had left. His own father.

The man was tall, with a short beard and a ponytail draping down his back. He had tanned skin and strands of blonde hair mixing with inky black hair. His eyes were almost luminescent, looking almost alien. He looked out into the ocean, thinking deeply about what must be done. He had no future in this world. No one to care about here.

Arthur sighed,"I can't do this."

Behind him was a short, old man with greying hair, his face wrinkled from years of living.

"And why not?"

"Vulko, I don't belong down there. I don't want to rule a nation. I don't want to live in a place where I'll be discriminated because of my own father! I don't want any of this!"

"Arthur, how can you simply throw all of this away?", Vulko asked.

"Why would I want to be surrounded by people who hate people who are different and never leave their own world?!"

"That is the exact reason why you must do this! The kingdom doesn't believe in change or progression, which is why you must lead them to it!"

"HOW?!", Arthur yelled, "I can't lead anyone and I can't help anyone! All my life I've been trying to help others and do good and what has that gotten me?! A city that thinks I'm a freak, a friend who tries to betray me, AND NO FATHER ! I'm through with this life! I'm done, Vulko!"

Arthur walked past Vulko and walked straight down the hill.

Vulko called out to him, "ARTHUR, IF YOU DO THIS, THEN YOU HAVE DISAPPOINTED EVERYONE!"

"THEN LET THEM BE DISAPPOINTED FOR ALL I CARE!"

…

South Pacific Ocean. 2006.

The man was silent for the longest time. He couldn't look at him. Couldn't look at the thing staring at him. He couldn't throw it off of the raft either like he did with the other body. This thing, as horrid as it was, he couldn't simply desert it.

How can a boy throw his own father's corpse into the ocean?

The man was young, with long brownish-blonde hair and a beard. His eyes were weary from weeks of floating around in the ocean, with no food, no water, and no one to help him.

 _This is it,_ Oliver thought to himself, _This is how I die…. I can't say that I don't deserve it._

Oliver has always treated his life as some pathetic game. Spending his parents' money, getting drunk, and treating women as simple play toys for his own pleasure.

Maybe this was God's sick way of showing the consequences of his actions. Taking away his home. Taking away the sister of his girlfriend ( _Dear God, will Laurel ever know what happened to her sister_ ). Taking away his family…He'll never see his mother, Thea,...Dad...This is it.

This is how he would die.

*THUMP!*

Oliver looked up to see that his raft has just bumped into a giant rock in the middle of the sea. He was about to go lay back down when he noticed that there were more rocks everywhere. He looked farther into the horizon and actually saw something good.

An island. It was large and mountainous, tropical plants covering much of the island. It was a few miles away and surrounded by hazardous rocks.

Oliver's eyes perked up. _This...this was it. This was what he had to do. He couldn't die like this. He couldn't die today._

The frail man slowly got up and used his skinny hands to paddle towards the island.

 _I'm not dying today. Not like this._

…

Outer area of the Solar System. 2010.

Two green blurs soared straight through the cosmos, flying around the entire system as if they were searching for something.

"Are you sure this is where it was, Hal?"

"I'm telling you, Johnny. I know it was around here!"

"Well, if the Guardians believe it escaped-"

"John, listen, first rule of being a Green Lantern, try not to put too much credit into what the Guardians say. Those guys have been wrong before."

"Whatever, man. Let's just hope that this...thing doesn't reach home."

 **Okay, so this was a pretty slow chapter, I know, but it's supposed to show how this world is different from the typical DC stories and what's changed. It also helps show how these characters got their beginnings and what they've gone through in the past.**

 **A lot of this is inspired by my redesigns from my Deviantart page, cbkl3082, which basically is a bit of a mix of many different versions of the classic characters while still being its own thing. You'll get a better understanding of this in the next chapter.**

 **Hope you guys like it and please review!**


	2. Chapter 2-Capes & Cloaks

**Chapter 2-Capes & Cloaks**

Washington D.C. 2010.

Screaming erupted in the city as dozens and dozens of citizens ran for their lives, trying to escape the chaos that was going on downtown. Ever since the attack on Gotham, the world has been witnessing a rise in unimaginable attacks, attacks in which the most insane of things can happen. People all over the world were trying to come up with reasons to explain them to no avail. Some were in fear while others were accepting of it. However, no event like this has happened this close to the capital of the most powerful nation in the world.

In downtown, dust surrounded the entire area as rubble and a few toppled buildings lay in the middle of the street. In the middle of the destruction was an incredibly large beast. It was as big as a bus, with a strong resemblance to a lion. On the creature's back was the head of a black goat, which was braying loudly. Rather than having a normal tail, the beast had the head of a snake poking out of its body, whipping around and hissing at anyone who dared to get near it (which obviously no one would).

People were screaming as the creature roared, destroying whatever as in its path. One of the people running, a pre-teen girl with blonde hair, tripped on a large piece of rubble, falling to the ground.

"OH GOD, NO! HELP! SOMEONE!", she screamed, struggling to get up. She looked behind her to see the monster turn around and notice her. She screaed as the beast snarled, suddenly running towards her. It's large mouth opened to reveal an impressively large set of teeth, as sharp as daggers, as it roared as loud as possible. Each step it took sounded like thunder ringing out as it pounded towards the girl.

She screamed, closing her eyes in pure fear...only to hear a yelp of pain. She slowly opened her eyes and gasped.

The creature was standing right above her on its hind legs, struggling to reach out and bite at the girl. The good news for the girl: It was completely tied up. All around its body was a long golden rope-like object. It looked like it was made of pure golden lightning, electricity sparking off of it. It sparked everywhere, wrapping itself around the beast and preventing it from moving.

Suddenly, the creature was pulled right back by the rope, flying straight into the air, and quickly pulled right back down to the ground, crashing downwards painfully. It laid down, clearly unconscious, as the girl breathed frantically.

From the dust, a tall woman walked out holding the other end of the rope. She was tall with light caramel skin, looking like she was from the Mediterranean or Middle East. She wore sparkling red armor, with a gleaming gold, double-arched belt wrapped around her waist right above the light blue skirt-like base ,resembling an ancient warrior of the past. There was an odd shine to her body, as if she were made of marble or stone. She glared at the beast in anger as she tugged back as hard as possible on the rope

"CHIMERA! I BELIEVE IT IS TIME FOR YOU TO END THIS CHAOS!", the woman shouted out.

The beast snarled back, slowly getting up and sprinting towards the woman. It lunged at her before the woman swiftly punched the beast, specks of blood flying out of its mouth. It feel to the ground, staggering and trying to get up before the woman punched the beast's head right into the ground, knocking it out.

She quickly sprinted over to help out the young girl, lifting her up.

The armored woman gave the young girl a reassuring smile, "Dear child, I recommend that you run now."

"Y-Y-You...It's you", the girl shakily said, smiling happily.

Suddenly, a loud snarl was heard. The armored woman turned to see the beast waking up and preparing to charge at her again.

"Go! Now!", the warrior ordered the child, who quickly ran off for safety. The warrior turned around and smiled, pulling out a gleaming silver sword off of her back. Giving a cocky smile, she quickly ran at the beast.

The monster launched at her, only for the woman to quickly slice off the beast's front right paw. It snarled in pain, the viper on its end whipping around, spraying poison. The woman ran forward and pushed it back before running under it and punching it under the jaw.

The beast flew up into the air but suddenly, the warrior grabbed it by the tail and slammed it right into ground. It staggered up, its front paw slowly regenerating as though ash were becoming a physical leg. It began roaring as loud as possible, ripples of noise and anger vibrating off of it.

"You can never know when the battle is over can you?", the warrior asked tiredly.

It launched right at her but in the blink of an eye, she pulled a shield off of her back and blocked the beast from scratching her. Sparks flew everywhere as it clawed at her in fury. Groaning, she grasped her sword and pushed the beast right off of her and sliced the tail off of the beast.

The wriggling snake began to snap at her. Before it could snap at her leg, she quickly grabbed it and threw it straight at the beast, watching the snake accidently bite the beast's goat head.

While it was injured, she whipped out her golden lasso and began whipping at the beast's paws. It was as though lightning was striking right at the ground, blasts of golden energy shining everywhere.

The beast was too enraged to even think coherently as it charged right into one of the lasso's blasts, rolling backwards in pain.

The warrior quickly ran over to see the light fade from its eyes.

She stood above it, watching it slowly fade into the ground to return to the Underworld it came from.

She smiled triumphantly, stabbing her sword deep into the ground and repeating a short prayer.

However, her victory was short-lived, as from the airs, an entire squadron of fighter jets were coming near the battle site.

She quickly ran off into the distance, the clouds of dust hiding her.

Once she made sure that the dust was able to cover, she pulled out her lasso and began to swing it around her body, sparks of pure energy and lightning zapping everywhere, striking the ground around her.

In merely a few seconds, her armor seemed to disintegrate, washing off her body like sand. Her own stony skin began to wash off of her as she slowly shrunk down in size.

When she finally stopped whipping around the rope, the woman changed from an Amazonian warrior to a normal woman with olive skin and a purple, formal dress. After tying her hair into a braid, she quickly rushed into the crowd to hide herself.

If she didn't have that lasso, who knows how Diana of Themyscira would blend in with the crowd.

...

Metropolis, Delaware. 2010.

Many people agree that the city is most beautiful at dawn, the bright lights of the horizon shining up the blackness of night making any trip there worthwhile.

However, today was anything but beautiful.

In the center of the grand city, the oddest thing was attacking the civilians. It was a giant robot, resembling an action figure or a toy. It had a very basic design, green paint covering its rectangular body. A giant antennae stuck out from the top of its head with yellow headlights for eyes and painted-on smile, making the machine even more terrifying. On its back was a giant wind-up key, slowly turning around in circles.

The robot began to screech as its gears turned as it moved. Every civilian near the monster was running for their lives as cars tried to escape from the wreckage. Every civilian except for two.

Hiding behind a small car were two people, cautiously watching the destruction. One was a young man, seeming to be in his late teens, with brown skin and curly hair. He had a nervous look on his face as he held a small polaroid camera in his hands. The other was a woman in her late-twenties or early thirties, with an adventurous grin on her face and a small notebook in her hands, which she quickly scribbled down notes on.

The young man shivered, "Lois, remind me again how much Mr. White's paying us for this?"

"Oh, trust me, Jimmy", Lois smiled at her colleague, "When this is over, Perry's gonna be paying us in truckloads for the rest of our lives!"

Suddenly, a van was thrown right above their heads. The two watched with their eyes wide open as it crashed right onto the street, fire and random pieces of metal being thrown everywhere.

"HOLY SH-! LOIS, WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!", Jimmy screamed, grabbing his friend's arm and trying to drag her out of there. However, his friend tugged her arm away from him.

"Jimmy, I can't just leave this!", she shouted, "We all know what's about to happen next and we can't let this moment pass us by!"

"WE DON'T EVEN KNOW IF THAT..BLUE THING IS EVEN GONNA SHOW UP!", Jimmy shouted in fear. He looked up and screamed, as the robot's large, rectangular foot slowly dropped from above them. They quickly ran before the robot could crush them under its feet, dust spraying over from the crash.

The two began coughing uncontrollably as they looked around, confused and scared out of their minds.

"JIMMY, STAY CLOSE!", Lois shouted out, "JIMMY?! JIMMY?!" She looked around but couldn't see anything in the dust. Slowly, the wind blowed the dust away, as Lois was finally able to see Jimmy a few feet away from her.

"JIMMY!"

"LOIS, RUN!", the boy screamed, pointed up to whatever was behind her. Lois slowly turned to see the gargantuan android pick up a large, bright-green car, its headlights facing right at her.

Lois slowly backed up before swiftly turning around and dashing towards her friend, "JIMMY, GET DOWN!" When she finally caught up with her friend, the robot began to wind its arm back, suddenly chucking the vehicle right at them.

No matter how fast the two were running, they knew that they weren't going to be able to run far enough to avoid the projectile. They flinched, closing their eyes tightly and holding each other in fear, expecting to be crushed like ants underneath a boot.

….Nothing happened.

The two slowly opened their eyes, thinking that maybe the car missed them or the robot didn't even throw it. They heard something creaking above them, as they slowly looked up. What they saw above them changed their lives from that point on.

The cloaked figure wore a bright blue hoodie with red outlines on the seams, blue jeans, and literally-smoking running shoes. Yellow lines outlined the chest of his jacket, the female writer thinking it looked almost like a shield. The two humans could barely see his face except for his bright blue eyes and confident smile.

Somehow, in some way, the man was floating above the two, holding up the giant green car from underneath. He didn't look tired or strained at all from holding the object, as though it were as heavy as a button.

"You know, usually when a giant robot attacks the city, people run AWAY from it", the man joked.

The two reporters remained silent, what was occurring barely registering in their minds. In the awkward silence, the boy slowly lifted up his camera and snapped a photo of the man.

The man landed on the ground and placed the car next to him, the awkward silence continuing. After a quiet moment, the robot behind them began to creak, grabbing another car, this one filled with passengers.

The man turned to see the robot and then turned back to the reporters, lifting up a finger, "Hold that thought."

In a blink of an eye, the man quickly soared through the sky and landed a strong punch to the robot's chest, an incredibly loud clang ringing through the city. Then, faster than a speeding bullet, he effortlessly pulled off one of the doors of the car in the robot's hand.

The passengers gaped in shock as the man in the blue hoodie smiled at them in a comforting manner, "Stay calm, everyone. This may get a little bumpy."

Then, out of nowhere, beams of burning red light shone straight out of the man's eyes, quickly slicing off the robot's fingers and letting them crash onto the street. The robot began to back up, trying to process what was happening and come up with ways to defeat the unexpected threat. Before the car could tilt off of the machine's palm, the man in blue quickly lifted up the car and flew it a few miles away from the damage, wind being blown everywhere as he soared over the reporters.

Jimmy stuttered in complete amazement, "I-I-I-"

"It's him", Lois smiled, "I-It's the blur. It's real."

For months, there have been rumors around the streets of something rescuing people, something blue and so fast that nobody could truly see what it was or understand what happened. Nobody knew if it was real or not and only conspiracy theorists bothered reporting it. Now...well, these two knew that their boss was definitely going to get on his knees in thanks for this.

Suddenly, the robot began to screech once more, slowly charging at the two reporters.

Lois pulled her friend up, "Go! GO!"

The two began to dart down the streets as the robot began chasing them down. Suddenly, out of complete nowhere, the blur returned.

Crashing straight through the robot's chest as if it were nothing, fists out in front of him and a frown on his face.

He quickly shook his body mid-air, wiping off the oil, as sparks, wires, and gears fell from the robot's chest. Unfortunately,as the man floated in the air, he saw that the robot was still active.

"Okay then, so that's how this is going", the man remarked to himself before speeding towards the robot's head, delivering incredible punches that swiftly caused the machine's head to swivel back, more wires sparking.

Then, before the thing could crash to the ground in ruin, the blue man quickly dove behind its back, lifting it up before letting it down gently to ground.

He flew up and landed on the thing's chest, watching its eyes flicker out. He sighed in relief, happy that the thing was finally destroyed. "You know, if that's the neighborhood welcome I'm going to get, I'm in for a treat", he joked.

From behind a fallen car, the two reporters looked up to see the man looking down at the robot intently. He looked around the area, squinting his eyes to scan the city around him.

"What's he doing?", Jimmy whispered before having his mouth cover by Lois's hand to shut him up.

The man continued looking around before smiling, "Gotcha."

In less than a second, he crashed straight through the door of the apartment complex a mile in front of him. The two reporters slowly walked out in a cautious manner, wondering if the chaos has subsided.

Out of nowhere, the blue man quickly returned, flying down to the ground with a screaming man in his grasp, the man's arms wrapped in a giant steel bar, probably bent by the hero. The man had graying hair and a pair of glasses, yelling as he struggled to be released from the hero's grasp.

Eventually, the man stopped struggling, looking at his captor and shouting, "OH COME ON! I FINALLY GET OUT OF NATIONAL CITY AND THIS IS HOW I GO BACK TO JAIL?!"

The hooded man chuckled, "You know, you're taking the fact that a flying man just captured you much better than I expected."

The old man snarled, "WHEN I GET OUT, I'M GOING TO KILL EVERY SINGLE PERSON THAT EVER CARED FOR YOU! I SWEAR IT!"

The man in blue glared, his eyes lighting red, "I think the only one here who should be worried for their safety is you." He heard sirens miles away and smiled, "I think the MPD would like a word."

He dropped the man to ground and looked around at the damage. Luckily, though there was a lot of damage in the form of cars sticking right out of skyscrapers, no one was severely injured. However, now the flying man realized that he just made his big introduction to the city, hell, to the world!

He turned around to see the reporters and a few citizens slowly walking towards him, in astonishment as to what just occurred in front of them.

The man smiled at them, waving, "Don't worry, everyone. It's over now. Wait here for paramedics and the emergency crew." He began to walk away before Lois quickly ran towards him.

"WAIT!", she screamed, "W-wait. Um…" She stuttered, nervously looking at the man, "Wow, so, you're...you're real."

"Last time I checked", the man joked.

"Well", Lois sheepishly smiled, before clearing her throat and regaining her composure, "I'm Lois. Lois Lane, writer for the Daily Planet. Um, I was wondering, would you mind answering a few questions for my paper?"

The man awkwardly rubbed his shoulders, "Ergh, sorry, thank you for the offer, but I really must be leaving now."

He began to turn around again before the woman quickly said, "Wait! Whu-But you just destroyed some giant robot! I mean, people are obviously gonna be talking about it! Could you at least give us your name?!"

The man thought to himself before responding with a chuckle, "I think you and your buddy will come up with something for me."

Suddenly, he launched himself into the air, stopping to see the world below him. He felt the rays of the sunrise shining upon him, the light making his colors pop out more. He waved before quickly flying away from the city at a speed so fast that people thought he actually teleported or disappeared.

Luckily, the young cameraman, Jimmy, was able to get one last picture of the man in blue, soaring across the air in the dawn. He quietly handed the two photos to his colleague.

"Ya' think these will work?", he whispered.

Without even looking, Lois took the photos from the boy's hands and viewed them, "Jimmy, these are going to be perfect."

Miles away, the man quickly swooped through an open window of a small apartment, hoping that he was going fast enough for noone to notice him. He quickly landed in the small room before taking off his hoodie.

He had combed black hair, a small curl on the front. He had tanned skin, almost glistening in the sunlight. He had a lantern-shaped jaw with kind, sky-blue eyes and a glistening white smile. He removed the hoodie off of his tall, built body and threw it onto the couch, quickly sitting down in exhaustion.

"Well, Clark, you did it", he chuckled, talking to himself, "You just made a COMPLETE ass of yourself."

…

Gotham City, New Jersey. 2010.

Once again, night fell upon the grand city, it's gleaming, golden lights shining from the windows of buildings. Blimps scoured the area for any serious crimes, as this city has definitely had its share of terrorist attacks and insanity. For decades, the city has been famed for being the most crime-filled city in the United States and for the past few years, these crimes have definitely become too big to ignore.

Crimes that were too insane for people to comprehend.

Deep within the city, red and blue lights flashed everywhere as an entire squad of police cars parked outside of a beat-down building, windows boarded up and everything. Officers held their guns out, ready to fire at whoever walked straight out.

From the group of officers, a tall, trench-coated old man with light-brown skin and glasses walked to the front, megaphone in hand.

He turned the device on and began shouting, "This is the GCPD! You have ten minutes to exit the building, free your hostages to the public, and surrender to us! And unless you guys are really that stupid to stay in there, then you guys are new here!"

Suddenly, gunfire rang out from one of the windows, the old man quickly ducking behind the car.

From within the building, six men with black ski-masks and weapons laughed at the cops below, some of them aiming their weapons at civilians tied up with rope and gagged.

One of the crooks laughed, "Eat on this, you damn pigs!"

Another one spoke up, "Unless you boys got us our one-million bucks, ya'll can kiss my ass!"

One of the hostages began to cry as one of the thugs shouted, "SHUT UP! SHUT YO' DAMN MOUTH UP!"

"Where the hell are those idiots with our money?!", the first thief yelled.

Suddenly, they heard something clang downstairs.

"What was that?!", one of them asked, "Did one of those guys get in?! Go downstairs and check!"

Two of the thugs quickly ran downstairs to see what would happen. Holding up flashlights, the two scoped the area, interested in what was going on.

"You see anything?"

"Nothing, bro. Think we're good?"

The only response was silence. The thug turned around, seeing nothing in the darkness, "Bro, you there?"

He squinted his eyes to see if anything was there when suddenly, the unconscious body of his partner was thrown onto him, the two falling to the ground.

"OH MY GOD! WHAT THE HE-?!", he stopped talking once he saw something slowly walking towards him. A hand was placed right on the top of his head before quickly being slammed to the ground.

The thugs upstairs heard the noises from downstairs, wondering what was happening.

"What the hell?", one of them shouted. They began to pull their weapons closer to themselves, prepared for whatever attack was upon them. After a minute of waiting in the dark for an answer, something suddenly crashed through the floor beneath them. Flopping in front of them were the unconscious body of one of the thugs, bruised and bloodied.

Everyone screamed in the room, scared. The head thug shouted, aiming his gun everywhere, "WHAT THE SH-WHO THE HELL IS HERE?! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!"

"JESUS CHRIST, IT'S HIM!", one of them screamed, "IT'S THE BAT-M-!"

"SHUT THE HELL UP, MIKE!", the head thug shouted, "NO WAY THAT BITCH HERE! IF ANYTHING MOVES, SHOOT IT DOWN!"

"Wait, what the hell is that?", one of the thugs pointed at something glowing on the unconscious body's chest. Out of nowhere, the device popped, several small projectiles being thrown around the room and crashing straight through the flashlights in the hands of the crooks, one of the thieves even shouted as something cut his hand. Darkness engulfed the room as everyone was concerned over what was happening.

One of the men slowly walked around, sweat dripping down his face, "J-Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ."

Out of nowhere, something crashed straight into the side of the man's head, blood spurting out from his mouth. Gunfire rang out as something black quickly darted across the room, the only way of seeing it was the lights from the rifles as they blew apart the room.

"OH GODDAMMIT!", the second crook screamed, "WHERE ARE YOU, YOU SON OF A BITCH?! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!"

*CRACK!*

The man froze as something slowly rose from behind him. It wore a heavy-looking cape with pointed edges at the shoulders and the edges pointing forward into the air, creating an extremely frightening presence. Arches of light began to light up on the being's suit, almost resembling the bones of a skeleton. It looked like a monster, with fierce, glowing-white eyes piercing down at him and sharp ears pointing backwards, like a cat or a fox…

..Or a bat.

The man was about to pull his gun out on him when the beast quickly knocked it from his hand in a single swipe of his cape. Glaring, the creature landed a powerful punch on the man. He staggered back a little before pulling a switchblade out from his pocket. He tried to stab the man, only to have his hand grabbed and crushed.

He screamed in pain as his partner stood there in awed silence, likely urinating his pants from the sight of the freak. When he finally regained his sense and tried to shoot the hero, he was quickly stabbed right in his hand by some sort of dart.

He dropped the gun and looked at his hand to see an odd projectile sticking out of it. It was bat-shaped obviously, looking like one of those throwing stars you see in the flicks.

The Bat twisted the second thug's arm before using his other hand to land a chop to the chest before throwing him over his own shoulder. The leader removed the batarang from his hand and tried to reach for his gun before the man in black swiftly threw some small device that latched onto the man's chest.

Sparks flew as the thug was electrocuted, staggering and trying to keep his balance before the hero sprinted across the room and elbowed him straight in the face. The leader screamed as he nearly fell down the massive hole left by the bat's entrance. From a belt latched onto the man's body, a grappling hook was pulled out, quickly latching onto the man's leg before he could hit the ground.

With a single tug, the leader was pulled up again straight through the hole, but before he could fall again, the Bat delivered a swift blow to face mid-air. The man fell right in front off the hostages, who were screaming in fear.

The man in black quickly darted over and cut up the ropes tying them using a small knife on his belt. They quickly jumped up and ran out of the building. One of the hostages, a small boy with short black hair turned around to see his rescuers.

He was tall with some scruff on his rectangular face. He was built, with scratched-up black protective gear covering his body and a cape draping over his body. A cowl cover most of face except for his mouth, which was locked in a scowl, the sides of the cowl lighting up to resemble bat fangs. Suddenly, a giant, circular symbol shone off of the man's chest.

A bright bat symbol encircled in a white oval, creating a giant spotlight on the boy's face.

The boy gaped in awe before slowly running out of the building.

The man stood there as he watched the hostages exit the apartment, his job there finished.

Suddenly, one of the men got up and tried to charge the man, who quickly turned around landed a blow across the man's face, powerful enough to cause him to fly straight through the window.

Officers and civilians screamed as the man crashed onto one of the cars, the fall knocking him out completely. Officers began to rush into the building as the commissioner looked at the unconscious, possibly comatose crook and turned to look up at the window, giving an approving nod.

NOW, Bruce's job was finished.

…

Central City, Missouri. 2010.

"HURRY UP, MICK! WE DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME!"

Blasts of glowing blue light shot straight from a large, black weapon, whatever it hit quickly freezing up. From the city's largest bank popped out a man wearing a heavy blue jacket, black goggles covering his face as he dashed out with a giant bag of cash in his arms and a satchel draped over his soldiers, filled with random cryogenic weapons. He looked to be in his early forties with white hair and a sinister grin on his face.

Following right behind him was a tall, muscular man wearing a slightly burnt-up trench coat and a holding a glowing-orange gun in his gloved hands. His face was clearly beat up with scratches and bruises covering it from past scuffles. He turned back and fired his weapon, pure heat and fire blasting straight out of it, burning whatever was in front of him. He also carried an enormous bag of cash with him, running towards his partner.

"Nothing like the smell of burning walls and torched-up wads of cash in the morning!", Mick laughed in a gruff voice, "Now, what the hell dp we do, Lenny?! We know what's coming next!"

As they ran down the streets, Leonard quickly shouted back, "Just shoot whoever's chasing us and hold on tight to those bags! Let's hope that the jackass in red isn't fast enough to catch up!"

Suddenly, the sound of lightning striking right into the street filled the city as wind whistled behind them. The two snarled, knowing exactly how this would go down.

"Let me guess, he's right behind us isn't he?", Mick grunted.

"Aw, you really do know me!"

They turned around to see a man wearing a red suit. He wore a red helmet, covering his head, and yellow-tinted goggles. Yellow wings were painted on the sides of the helmet, making him resemble the god, Mercury. He wore sneakers with small wings painted on and plates of metal covering the soles and the bottom of his feet. Metallic elbow-guards and knee guards were on him as the man wore running clothes with golden lines decorating the sides and a bright yellow bolt of lightning embellished on the chest.

"Seriously, c'mon, guys! How many months have we gone through this already? I kick your ass, take away that money, we know the rhythm", the man in red smiled cockily.

Leonard smiled, speaking in a slimy, almost comical voice, "Well, then you'll be pleased to see that we've added a few notes of our own to the rhythm."

The meta heard a beeping noise and looked down to see a small device clamped onto the crook's belt. Before he could do anything, the device quickly flew off of the belt, latching right onto the speedster's arm. Before he could do anything, the device exploded, freezing up his arm.

He screamed in pain before being kicked down by the thief.

"See ya' around, Barry", Leonard smiled, "Let's hit it, Mick!"

"What, I can't scorch him a bit?!", the thug groaned before running to catch up with his partner.

The speedster grunted before quickly vibrating his arm, causing electricity to fly everywhere and thaw off the ice. Barry smiled before dashing off after the men in less than a second.

The man looked like a being made of light and electricity, wind whistling everywhere and sparks flying everywhere. Lucky for the city, him running wouldn't hurt anyone unless he wanted it to.

Driving in a wrecked up van, the two boys quickly drove off into the distance, Mick laughing in victory.

"Metahumans trying to kill that sparky bastard", Mick chuckled, "And it takes two crooks with guns to knock him down."

"By now, that idiot's gonna run all the way back to his friends, cry for a solid few hours, and then try to chase us again, as usual", his partner pointed out, grinning from ear to ear.

"As you've said, Lenny…"

The two turned to see the speedster running right next to the van, smiling in triumph.

"...A few notes have been added to the rhythm!"

Before they could even react, they were suddenly flying through the air as Barry carried the two across the city, dashing around the streets like a laser beam. He came to a complete stop, allowing the crooks to fly out of his hands and crash into a filled up dumpster in front of them. The two slumped to the ground, groaning in pain.

Mick rubbed his head in agony, "We really gotta start workin' in Keystone instead."

Barry chuckled, "Well, then, I'll kick your ass over there! Only, what, a few feet away? At least to me, anyways."

Leonard looked down to see the bags of money they was slowly burning from the incredible speed the hero ran at. Leonard smirked, "Now come on, Barry, you remember the deal. You send me to the cops and I tell them all about who the vigilante in the silly, red unitard really is."

Barry remembered the deal and frowned, thinking to himself about what he had to do. Then, he smiled in realization, "You know, the deal was, I couldn't send you to prison…"

In less than a second, the crime duo was suddenly floating above the docks of the city, screaming as they splashed into the bay waters. The man in red snickered from above on a boardwalk, watching the two gasp for air.

"..But it doesn't mean I can't mess with you a little", he snickered, "If it makes you feel any better, you guys got a ten-minute head start 'fore the cops start comin'!"

He quickly sprinted away from the area, smoke and sparks being the only sign that he was there.

Snart growled in anger as Rory shouted at the top of his lungs, "I SWEAR I'M GONNA' MOUNT THAT IDIOT'S HEAD ON A WALL!"

…

Star City, Oregon. 2010.

The sound of arrows whistling through the air was heard throughout the alleyway. It was a sound familiar to everyone stuck in the Glades.

A man in a hoodie and a beanie ran through the alleys, a switchblade in his hand. He panted as he tried to escape from the duo chasing after him on the rooftops.

Footsteps could be heard running from above, as two men in costumes chased down the crook.

The man turned a corner, only to find himself at a dead end, a brick wall blocking his path. He tried to look around for an escape path but realized that there was none.

"Stand down and drop the blade!"

The crook turned around and nearly fainted upon seeing them. On top of the building in front of him were two figures wearing hoodies, one green and one red.

The one in the green hoodie looked to be in his early thirties. He wore a black makeup over his eyes and had brown stubble cover his mouth. The side of his hood was painted red, almost resembling a leaf or a feather. He was muscular with a green bow and arrow pointing at the crook.

The other seemed younger, in his teens, wearing a black makeup and a red hoodie, the seams of the hood being yellow-gold. He was shorter and seemed less muscular by comparison, most likely due to his age. In his arm was a red bow and arrow.

Quickly, the two ran forward and jumped off of the building, hopping off of the walls on their side and landing on the ground, keeping their arrows focused on the perp.

The crook stuttered, "W-W-What do you even want from me?"

The man in green spoke in a deep, growling voice, "Your boss! Danny Brickwell! Where is he?!"

"I-I don't know!", he stuttered.

Suddenly, the man in green released the arrow, letting it soar past the crook's right ear, scratching it. The crook screamed in pain, holding his now-bleeding ear.

"You were one of the men who aided him in the kidnapping of the aldermen!", the bowman shouted, "You know about your employer's hideouts and where the rest of your gang is hiding! Where?!"

"I don't know!", he shouted back.

The man in the red hood turned to his colleague, "Do you think he's telling the truth?"

The man in green gave him a look simply screaming, _What do you think?_ Embarrassingly, the man in red turned around and focused on the crook again.

"Unless you'd rather answer our questions hanging above the highway, you will tell us where he is!", the man in green yelled.

"I DON'T KNOW! PLEASE!", he cried.

Suddenly, the crook straight through the head, blood spurting from it. The two men quickly turned to see seven or eight men behind them, guns in their hands and ready for a fight.

The thug snarled, "That guy may have been weak but trust me, you freak, we aren't."

"Yes, well…", the man in green muttered, "...Neither are we."

The two quickly fired an arrow into the knees of two of the men, taking away their focus and allowing the archers to run forward and upper-kick in the face. The other men began to run forward and attack.

A fist-fight ensued in which the two men began brawling with the surprisingly-fit thugs. The man in red used his bow as a staff, hitting two of them in the face and kicking them in the throat while they were stunned.

The man in green was able to quickly grab one of the men and use him as a shield, protecting the archer from the punch in the face and knocking out the thug-shield. He threw the unconscious body onto his attacker and quickly punched him in the face to be sure he was down. Before another man could fire his gun, he grabbed the weapon and twisted the man's hand, smacking the side of the man's face with the bow. The fight continued as less and less men were still standing.

Eventually, there were only a few men still standing. The man in red was beginning to get tired out as one of the men sucker-punched him and prepared to fire his gun.

The man in red looked up at the top of the building facing him and shouted, "NOW!"

Before the thugs could turn around, the worst noise imaginable rung through the alleys, blasting away the thugs from behind and causing their ears to blow up, blood spurting from them.

While they were distracted, the archers quickly took them down. The man in green turned to see where the shouting came from.

On the top of the building was a blonde woman wearing a black mask and a biker jacket, dark-blue protective gear on her body and a black choker around her neck. In her hand was a silver-grey bow-staff. She smiled confidently before noticing the glare from the green archer.

The man in red shrugged helplessly as the green archer snarled, "Back to the base. Right now."

…

Happy Harbor, Rhode Island. 2010.

The warm glow of the bar made the city somewhat worth coming to. Not to say that it was a bad place, definitely not, but if you were to show up and see how saccharine and innocent the place was, you'd really need a drink to get through it.

At the booth sat Arthur, trying his best to get drunk off of the local whiskey. After three glasses, he raised his hand for another.

"Okay but after this, I'm cutting you off", the bartender pointed out.

"Of course you are", the hybrid grumbled. Ten years on the run from everyone. Ten years after his dad passed. Ten years and what was he doing? Nothing. Literally nothing.

He grumbled, banging his fist on the booth in frustration, "...Now what?"

Pissed off, he pushed the glasses off of the bar in anger and walked out of the bar, ignoring the angry yells of the bartender. The man trudged down the street, thoughts of craziness and fish flooding his mind.

He strolled down the creaking boardwalk street, trying to clear his mind. This part of the city was usually empty around this time at night, making him feel more comfortable.

The man didn't even want to look to his sides to see the ocean. Didn't even want to hear the gulls or the bells ringing. He just wanted to be alone.

Unfortunately for him, that wouldn't last long.

*WHIP!*

Arthur's eyes widened once the thing wrapped around his wrist, not wanting to let go. It was some sort of whip or lasso but, instead of being made of rope and string, it was made of a glowing blue liquid, the smell of saltwater reeking off of it.

The buff man quickly pulled his arm up, tugging at the whip wrapped around him. He swiftly turned around and grabbed the water with his other hand, tugging it strongly and pulling whoever was on the other end over his shoulder.

His attacker was pulled over his shoulder, crashing down to the ground a few feet in front of him.

He was young, probably in his mid-teens, with slightly-tanned skin and gills on the sides of his neck. His jet-black hair was tied into a ponytail as his purple eyes focused intently on his opponent. The man wore shining, sleek armor, the chest plate being scarlet-red and with black and blue lines highlighting the sides. His torso and neck-area was black with lines of blue sparkling on them. The chest-plate looked like it was made of a tough, jewel-like structure or sea pebbles, resembling the crustaceans of the deep, but the rest of it also beared a slight resemblance to the sleek blubber of seals. On the belt of the armor was a gleaming symbol, a golden-arch.

Around his arms were glowing blue tattoos and in his two hands was the water-whip, now morphing into the form of a dagger.

The boy glared at the man, "My liege, Orin-"

Arthur rolled his eyes, "Oh God, are you kidding me."

"I am Garth'har and I am here to return you to your rightful home", he said, "By the order of King Orm, you must come to Atlantis."

Arthur snickered, "Listen, it's been a long day. I literally just got back to the states. I'm not exactly in the mood for more travel."

"My lord, we've come to take you to rightful place as our king", the soldier repeated, "Your brother, your people, you must return!"

"Yeah, I've already dealt with some of your other punk soldiers. I think you shou-", he stopped, "Wait...we?"

Suddenly, both of the hybrid's arms were wrapped in the same glowing liquid as Garth's whip. He groaned as the whips pulled his arms as far to their sides as possible, Arthur trying to pull them away.

One soldier was on each of his sides. One was a young boy, who had dark brown skin and dread-locked hair the color of sand. He wore a similar armor to his partner but instead of blue highlights, it was black. The other was a young girl with tanned skin and short brownish-red hair, random brown spots over her body. She wore yellow-scaled armor with light blue highlights and a blue plant-like object wrapped around her waist.

"This man is the brother of King Orm, Tula?", the dark-skinned man asked, groaning whilst trying to keep hold, "He looks like all of the other humans we've seen!"

"Quiet, Kaldur!", Tula ordered, "He looks exactly like the man in our images! It is him!"

"It is him", Garth groaned and began walking over, "My liege. Stay calm. The trip will not take that long." The boy turned around to face the bay, the tattoos on his arms lighting up from beneath his armor.

Vast gallon of seawater began to glow and levitate into the air, slowly floating towards the "king".

Getting tired of all of his, Arthur growled in anger, quickly pulling his arms down with all of his strength and pulling the soldiers forward towards him. In mid-air, the bearded man raised his arms up again and smashed his fist into the chests of the soldiers, knocking them to the ground.

Arthur straightened up again before the giant bubble of water slammed right into him. He struggled as he felt his body being slowly sucked into the liquid, felt his own lungs adapt to breath in the water. He growled, flashes of childhood memories going through his mind. He had enough of this.

Screaming at the top of his lungs, he lifted his leg into the air and crashed it right through the wooden boardwalk, grabbing one of the broken pieces of wood and throwing it straight at the boy.

Garth was knocked back by the plank, causing him to lose his focus and drop the bubble of water. Arthur shook his head as his hair whipped droplets of water off. He snarled as Tula and Kaldur jumped at him, whips out. Like a boxer, he was able to dodge each whip and use his forearm to block any of the punches or kicks.

Tula jumped up to upper-kick the man at the same time that Kaldur tried to land a kick as well. Before their kicks could land on him, he grabbed both of their legs, pushing them away. The Atlanteans tumbled to the ground as Garth quickly jumped forward, rings of water spinning around his hands.

They spun dangerously close to Arthur's beard before he grabbed the kid's body and tried to throw him over his shoulders. Unfortunately, right after he threw the kid off, Garth quickly roped his whip around the man's neck, pulling Arthur down to the ground on his back.

He struggled to get up but the others rushed to hold him down. Using their powers, water began bursting straight through the boardwalk, the tattoos glowing brightly on Tula and Kaldur. It began to slowly spin around their bodies, preparing to strike.

"Bind him!", Garth ordered. In a flash, the ropes of water shot forward, binding their supposed-ruler's hands.

"I'm sorry, 'my lord', but you must come", Kaldur spoke down to the hybrid, "Lift him up."

Suddenly, the boardwalk shook. The trio felt something move beneath them.

"What in the depths..?", Tula asked. She looked down through one of the holes made in the boardwalk to see small fish beginning to flop around in the water, flying upwards in a frenzy.

Arthur began to chuckle, "You may want to move away right now."

Before they could respond, three massive objects crashed straight through the boardwalk, seawater and planks of wood flying through the air.

The biggest great-white sharks imaginable used their rotting-yellow teeth to grasp right onto the Atlanteans in mid-air. They screamed in absolute shock and fear before the beasts fell back down into the ocean, taking the children with them.

The chains of water quickly melted right off of Arthur, who slowly got up and groaned in pain, "AND DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT COMING BACK!"

He knew the sharks weren't going to actually kill the children, merely drag them away as far as possible, give him a bit of a head start.

He looked down to see his navy-blue long-coat torn up to shreds, exposing his muscular body. On his arms were two sets of glowing tattoos, symbols emitting an aqua-green aura.

He smirked, knowing that those sharks showing up was no coincidence.

He commanded them to appear.

He sighed, throwing his jacket down at walking away from the boardwalk, preparing to get to his motel and escape this dumb town. But right before he set foot on the asphalt street, he felt something.

In his heart, he felt as if he were tugged to the ocean. As if he wanted to jump right in it and swim away.

...But that wasn't going to happen. Those days are never going to return.

…

The poor human sobbed in fear, tied to a chair with his mouth gagged. The dim light of the lamp shaking around the abandoned warehouse didn't make the room any more appealing. The disgusting cracks in the wall, the smell of rotting wood, it was horrifying.

A man stood in front of him, consumed in shadows. The captive saw the man merely standing there, gazing out at the wall in front of him.

After hours of silence, the man finally opened his mouth, "I do not expect a being like you to understand why I am here. Why you are here. If you were in my position, you would most likely do the same."

The human cried, his yells for help doing nothing.

"The thirst for power, the need to ravage and own whatever you see, I have felt this my whole life", the creature explained, "And now, with my...newfound freedom, I shall finally complete what I began centuries ago."

The hostage watched as his captor began to tremble a little. His eyes widened when he saw the creature lift its hand.

In the being's hand, something violently shook as in a matter of seconds and, in a horrifying mess of slime and other liquids, grew to be bigger than his hand.

The being turned and slowly walked into the light. What the man saw was worse than any nightmare he's ever had in his entire life.

It was a man. Most of his body looked like a normal, average-height human, wearing a black business suit. It was what was on his face that was terrifying.

Wrapped around the center of his face was a bulging parasitic...thing. It had a slimy blue body, wriggling with life. It had five tentacles wrapped around a human head, keeping the parasite right in its place. The human mouth was visible but had disturbing arteries and veins visible. But somehow, that wasn't even the most horrifying part of it.

Its eye was the worst part. It was pure white with a red, demonic iris right in the middle, staring right through the captor's body.

The being placed its hand on his captive's shoulder and lifted up his hand.

In its palm was an identical parasite, squirming around and staring right at the man. As the captive's eyes widened in complete horror, the parasite began to reach for his face.

The being frowned, "Don't struggle. Struggling will only make it harder for me."

The parasite ripped the hostage's gag right off of the man's face, finally allowing his fear to be released in its pure form.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

…

 **Yep, so I think you can all clearly tell who the villain of this story's going to be, the first League villain himself, Starro! I really want to play up the horror elements with this guy!**

 **It was a little hard to get some of these characters right, especially Batman, as their fighting styles & personalities are so distinct! I hope it went well in the end.**

 **There are a few references here and there if you look closely. The kids rescued by Batman & Wonder-Woman may seem familiar (though not important to the story...yet)**

 **Yes, Snart does know Barry's identity in this universe, as by this point, the whole Cisco-revealing-Barry's-identity thing from season one already happened. Barry's suit is a prototype, as I thought that the idea of a failing company wouldn't have the materials to create a more protective/stylized suit like in the movie/show. Think of it resembling a less goofy version of the suit Barry wore on his test run in the pilot.**

 **I decided that in this universe, the whole Oliver vs the League of Assassin storyline doesn't happen until later & they're still fighting Danny Brickwell at this point.**

 **The man who set off the robot is meant to be Winslow Schott Sr, who's just broken out of a prison in National City (SUPERGIRL REFERENCE!).**

 **Clark's costume is meant to be cheaply made, as he doesn't have his infamous suit yet. However, the yellow, shield-like symbol on his chest is meant to resemble the original, more shield-like and less-detailed design of the infamous symbol, depicted in his early appearances. The whole lift the car up part? Totally a reference to the Action Comics cover!**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review and stick around for the next chapter!**

 **Later!**


	3. Chapter 3-Why?

**Chapter 3-Why?**

Washington D.C.

Diana walked into the apartment, sighing with relief as she locked the door behind her. As she walked forward, she passed her roommate typing away at her laptop.

Her friend had dusty blonde hair and thick, round glasses, her fingers eloquently tapping at the computer.

Diana sighed and removed her glasses, resting her body on the sofa.

The roommate smiled, finally speaking in a British accent, "So, first chimera you ever fought or…?"

Diana chuckled, "They're already reporting on it?"

"It's everywhere, Diana. Every news channel. All over the internet", the roommate told her, "And I must say, it was awesome."

Diana sighed, "It was a good battle, indeed."

"Of course, it just HAD to be overshadowed by all the other crazy meta news going on in the world."

"Oh yes, all that news about the Flash of Central City or the Bat of Gotham", Diana chuckled, "And, oh! Who could forget the infamous one in Metropolis!"

"SUPERMAN!", the roommate struck a mocking pose, pretending to be a powerful man, "Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! And all that rubbish!"

The two shared a good laugh, thinking of how silly this all was becoming.

"So many of these weirdos and heroes popping out of the blue", the blonde chuckled.

Diana scoffed, "Rather foolish, really."

The brit looked up from her laptop, "How so?"

"Come on, Ann", the warrior sat up, "Those ridiculous garments, the childish nicknames, they may have done good but true heroes they are not!"

Ann tilted her head in confusion, "Wait, so stopping a robot from killing hundreds, taking down bad people, that doesn't count as heroism?"

"They're doing well, I can not disagree with that", Diana explained, "But they don't have the understanding of the graveness of the tasks and most of them don't even have training."

"How would you know if they had training or not?", Ann asked.

"Warrior's instinct", Diana pointed out.

"'Warrior's instinct' my arse", Ann scoffed, "Whatever, I still think they're great people doing good."

"Your opinion, deary", Diana smiled.

"Whatever", the blonde smirked, "WONDER Woman."

"By the gods, you are trying to revive that nickname?", the warrior sighed.

"I'm telling you, you have to call yourself that!"

"It's childish."

"It's branding! Making a mark, Diana!"

"The only marks I wish to make are with my sword", Diana smiled, thinking to herself.

When she first arrived in the world of man, she was the only one of her kind. A god-like creature surrounded by normal human beings. But ever since the appearance of the Bat & the freaks of Gotham a few years ago, the war of the Glades in Oregon, & the explosion of Central City, she was no longer the only powered being. Whether they were men of flesh & blood donning costumes or demigods destroying the laws of physics, the world has been stranger since Diana first stepped foot off of her home.

Home. Of course her mind drifted back to that.

For the past few months, Diana has been traveling the globe, taking a break from her job as an antiques dealer to view the rest of the world. Unfortunately, the rest of the world wasn't exactly as enjoyable as she remembered.

She slowly brushed away memories of her land and began walking towards her room.

"Oh jeez, sulking time already?", Ann joked, shouting out to her friend.

"I've just fought a monster. I believe I deserve some rest", Diana replied, closing the door behind her.

"Alright", Ann called out, "Nighty-night, Wonder Woman!" The roommate went into a laughing fit as the bedroom door closed.

Sighing, she sat down on her small bed, thoughts coming to her mind of the people she left. Her mother, her fellow Amazons, all enjoying themselves back home in their immortal glory while she was stuck in Washington D.C.

Trying to distract herself, she picked up the remote and turned on the TV, the news turning on. And apparently, today was the day that the Gods decided to mess around with her.

A reporter spoke from the site of today's battle, "-have been saying that the unidentified creature resembled a lion or a goat, some even referring to it as a 'monster'. A few described the one attacking the animal as, and I quote, 'something straight from a fairy-tale'. We suspect so far that the one responsible was the metahuman known as the 'Wonder of Washington', who made her appearance nine months ago."

Diana groaned, rolling her eyes at the nickname that inspired, well, the other nickname.

The reporter continued, "The amount of property damage caused by the fight is still being estimated as so far, six citizens have been confirmed as having been killed in the fight. Four of the deceased are confirmed to have been killed by the animal through mauling and claw marks while the other two show signs of death by electrocution."

Diana's eyes widened when she heard that last part.

Footage of the fight was displayed on screen, looking to have been taken by a newscopter. It featured Diana whipping her lasso out and striking it onto the ground, dust spreading everywhere and blasts of energy flying out.

One of those blasts striking a few of the people escaping.

The news reporter continued to speak but Diana was tuned out from the report already. She began to grit her teeth as she tried to contain her fury.

The reporter spoke, footage of injured men & women being treated by paramedics, "Thirty people are so far confirmed as injured, with three of the patients being in critical condition."

 _THIS was caused by me? This pain, the chaos I have tried to stop my whole life in Man's World?_

"Once again, the city is split as to whether or not the Wonder is truly a hero or another deity-like vigilante running amuck and only making already difficult situations worse with over-powered abilities."

 _I try to protect the innocent and the fallen only to let more fall by wrath's hand?! Me?!_

"Many are, ironically, WONDERING, if this metahuman...this god-like being can truly be trusted."

 _TRUST IS MY ENTIRE PURPOSE!_

*CRACK!*

She looked down to see that the remote in her hand broke in her grip. Sighing, she slowly got up and walked to the small trash bin, throwing the remains of the remote onto a large pile of previously broken remotes.

Sitting back on her bed, she looked down at the hand she gripped, frowning as she saw not a single scratch on it.

Diana fought back the tears and looked down at the floor in deep thought.

 _Why did I ever leave Themyscira?...Why?_

…

Metropolis, Delaware.

Zooming around the room, Clark was basically doing a million things at once. Wind rushed through the apartment as in one second he was cooking his dinner in the kitchen and the next moment, he was brushing his teeth in the sink. He had to go back to comb his hair repeatedly as flying around a room at the speed of a bullet kind of ruins it.

Alone in the empty apartment, the man slowly munched on his chicken, smiling. Unable to think of something to do, he decided to quickly dash over to the living room, his steaming plate of chicken in one hand and a remote in the other.

The TV lit open as he began to flip around the channels, trying to find something interesting. Passing by cartoons, comedies, and sports, he finally stopped once he got to the local news channel.

"This should be good", he chuckled to himself.

Two reporters were busy talking to each other as in the background, the infamous photo of "the Superman of Metropolis" was displayed. It's been a month or two since the attack by Winslow Schott and the world has been buzzing about the hero who's been randomly saving others.

One of the reporters smiled, "-Now, if you don't mind me asking, Charles, why would a 'low-life vigilante' bother protecting the entire city from a terrorist attack?"

"Margaret", the other reporter groaned, "I know that he may have saved us from the attack , but he's still a vigilante! I mean, look at all of the other 'heroes' running around the United States with no accountability or supervision. They may have helped others, but they're still considered criminals by the law. Same applies to this man."

Clark chuckled, a little annoyed by the remarks but seeing where they were coming from.

"Well, I for one don't support the idea of vigilantism myself", Margaret stated, "But I believe that it doesn't mean that we shouldn't appreciate the man's heroism and his help towards the people of this city."

Clark smiled, thankful for the woman's words of kindness. Closest thing he's gotten to a compliment in a while.

"Well, I guess you're not the only one", Chuck shook his head, "While we're still working on national polls, polls done recently show that about 65% of the city favorably view the Superman of Metropolis, with 5% being undecided, & 30% against him."

Clark laughed with joy, "SERIOUSLY! OH MY GOD!"

He turned around and smiled, shouting, "MA! PA! Did ya' hear tha-!"

The moment he remembered that he was alone was the moment the smile on his face began to slowly drop. Looking down, he slowly lifted his hand up and turned off the television.

Ever since he got to this city, he's felt so...alone. He hasn't been able to meet other people or find friends because he didn't want people recognizing him as the "Superman". That stupid hood wasn't exactly the best disguise for a six-foot-four, lantern-jawed, muscle-bound man. And now, the closest people he's had in his lives, his own parents, were all the way on the other side of the nation.

The alien rubbed his eyes, trying to think of something to do to keep his mind off of the loneliness. That's when an idea popped into his head.

…

Gotham City, New Jersey.

Down an abandoned path in the middle of the forest, an incredibly large vehicle roared down the road, the sound of police sirens filling the air.

The vehicle was massive and armored like a tank, massive wheels riding across the dirt-covered track. The back of the car looked as though it was being lifted into the air, the edges sharp and sleep surrounding the bulky frame. Light blue shielding covered the windshield, preventing anyone from seeing who was driving the vehicle.

On the inside, the vehicle had two small seats, Bruce sitting in one of the them with had his hands firmly on the wheel. He began to push buttons on the glowing dashboards, screens glowing on it with random functions and purposes. One of the screens lit up, the phrase "smokescreen deployed" appearing.

A row of pole-shaped machines appeared, lining down the sides of the path. After the vehicle drove past them, smoke and fog streamed out of the machines, blinding the cops' cars and causing them to stop to avoid crashing into trees.

The black vehicle continued to roll down the path, winding around the woods towards a large lake, the water beginning to bubble as something began to open from underneath. The ground beneath the water opened up, the wet liquid sinking down below the ground as a gate-like opening appeared. A ramp appeared at the end of the path, raising a foot into the air towards the lake. The car's engine roared as it flew off of the ramp and right into the dark opening, closing once the vehicle entered.

It roared down a vast, dark tunnel, sparks flying everywhere as the wheels screeched. Ahead of it, multiple gates began to open, allowing the car to pass right through. The path began to slant downwards afterwards, the car sliding straight down.

The tires began to scream as it finally slowed down, entering an enormous cave. Stalagmites hung from above the cavern, small white lights shining down on the steel grayground. Platforms were laid out around the area, each for different purposes. The platform at the front was laid out with enormous screens and computers lining the walls. Another platform was surrounded by weaponry at the edges, resembling some sort of wrestling or training area.

The mobile stopped on one of the platforms, the top of it sliding off to allow the vigilante to jump out. The man in black began to walk down a flight of stairs towards the computer, slowly removing his suit off of his body.

He had black, combed hair with grey strands beginning to grow. Stubble grew off of his square jaw, his face giving off no discernible expression. He was nearing his forties and the man looked worn out, as though all of his life he was beaten and mangled. As though he has seen practically everything.

As he sat down at his computer, typing away to view the reports of tonight's incident, he heard someone walk up behind him.

An aging British man known as Alfred Pennyworth appeared from behind, a thin mustache over his lips and small stands of hair on his balding head. He wore a butler uniform and had a platter on one of his hands, a cup of coffee on it. The Brit placed the mug next to Bruce, who still hadn't looked up.

He spoke in a dapper accent, "I take it that tonight's misadventure went well."

"Two of the men are in prison, four are at the hospital, one being in critical condition", Bruce responded in a gruff voice, "He'll pull through."

"Physically anyways", Alfred joked in the same dull tone, "And all ten hostages are now free to return to their homes."

The man sighed, leading the butler to roll his eyes, "The commissioner left a good word, I hope?"

"As usual. The public had a different response."

"As usual", Alfred sighed, "Not that it's stopped us before, sir."

Bruce took a sip from his cup before speaking, "You can come down now."

From above, a young, feminine voice was heard, "How di-You know, why am I surprised?"

Behind the man, two figures dropped down from above. Both wore training clothes, clearly having been exercising before appearing. One was a young girl, somewhere between thirteen and sixteen years of age. A beauty mark laid on the right cheek of her tanned face as long, curly, red hair ran down her head. She was fit for her age, clearly muscular but also flexible.

The other was a young boy, who looked to be younger than the girl. He had black, spiky hair and blue eyes, a smirk covering his face. He was look more slender than the girl and just as physically fit. In one hand was a bowstaff, which he spun around carelessly.

"Looks like the bat's returned to the cave", the boy chuckled, quickly sprinting forward and smiling right at the man's side, "So, guessing your night's been fun?"

"Barbara, Dick, I see you've been training", Bruce pointed out, "Though not for as lengthy as I hoped."

"Oh yes, because three hours isn't enough", Dick groaned, waiting for a reply before wiping the smirk off of his face, "Okay, I'm just going to skip to the point."

"That would stop wasting both of our times hopefully", Bruce sarcastically quipped.

"Why didn't you tell us about the hostages?", Barbara asked, clearly in a mood, "We could have helped you out on that one!"

"It was a simple kidnapping, you two", Bruce answered, "there was no need for more than one of us to go and there was no point in wasting either of your time which could be spent on training."

"It's not just that", Dick added, "I mean, for the past few missions, you've been leaving us behind and going off on your own, like the old days! What's the point of having us if-"

"When I need you two, I will call you. When the mission is something that you NEED to be there for, you will be there", Bruce matter-of-factly stated, "Otherwise, I would prefer if you didn't interfere."

Dick sighed but nodded in agreement but Barbara's face contorted with anger, "ARE YOU KIDDING-!"

The young boy placed a hand on her shoulder, "Save it, Babs. You heard him."

The two stared at one another before the girl pulled her shoulder away and walked off.

Finally, Bruce turned his chair around to face the two teenagers, a distant look in his eyes, as though he wanted to walk over and apologize to the two. However, he needed to focus on his work and his work alone. The butler placed the platter down and chased after the two.

That's what his life has been focused on for so many years. Work, perfecting his vision of a stronger Gotham, a better Gotham, making sure that the city was a better place. However, there were always distractions. Whether they were insane, destructive clowns or acrobats left orphaned, foolish riddle-makers or librarians wanting to be more than they were, distractions constantly arose, whether he wanted it or not.

The boy was merely a legal ward and the girl was the daughter of a close ally and yet, through the years of working with one another, their relationship grew somewhat...closer.

And that was a problem.

...

Happy Harbor, Rhode Island.

The gargantuan man sat in his motel room, his face in one hand and a beer in the other. He looked up, blinking his eyes in a dazed manner. He placed the bottle down and began to pack up, placing his belongings into a small bag.

He barged out of the room, the bag hung over his shoulder, as he tightened his coat and only stared forwards.

Walking down the streets, everything looked like a complete blur, bright lights shining in his eyes and distracting him from his focus. He groaned, the feeling of burning vomit coming up his throat.

From his side, in a dark alley, he heard someone speak, "You're going to pass out if you don't go there anytime soon, my lord."

The giant turned around, flying his fist downwards to punch someone only for it to be caught mid-air.

In front of him was a red-headed woman with the same piercing sky-blue eyes as him. She wore gleaming lime-green armor resembling fish scales or sea pebbles. Her face was stern, the smell of saltwater covering her body. A crown-like object was wrapped around her head, gleaming gold in the moonlight.

Behind her were the three soldiers who attacked Arthur earlier, each one with ripped clothing, dented armor, and wounds from their earlier escapade. They all growled once they saw the king.

"Well", Arthur chuckled gruffly, "For a few kids who just had their asses chomped by sharks, you look pretty good."

The one named Garth began to rush towards the man, only for the woman in green to place her hand on the boy's chest, "Garth, remember your place." The boy groaned and stepped back.

Arthur smirked, "I'm gonna guess you're the boss around here?"

The woman nodded, kneeling down, the others doing the same, "Greetings, my lord. I am Mera'yus, trainer of the young, practicer of magic, & defender of Atlantis."

"Good for you", the hybrid snarked.

"My students and I have been sent out to the world above to return you to your rightful place at the throne of the kingdom of Atl-"

"Yes, yes", Arthur interrupted, "Your little buddies over there told me about it before trying to kill me."

The youngest of the trio, Kaldur frowned, "We were not trying to kill-!"

The redhead lifted her right hand up, stopping the boy from charging forward.

"That was never intention", she glared at her students, "They were not supposed to attack."

The students squirmed awkwardly, Tula squeaked, "Garth started it."

The teenage boy shouted in anger, "TULA, YOU DOLPHIN!"

"DO NOT CALL ME A DOLPHIN, YOU PURPLE-EYED FREAK!", the young girl shouted back,.

"Enough of this fighting, my friends!", Kaldur yelled out, "...Besides, it is true that Garth started it.

The arguing started again, the three teens annoyingly shouting. While Arthur rolled his eyes, Mera's eyes began to glow. Arthur's eyes widened when he saw droplets of water form around her hands, growing in size at a rapid pace to form a glowing whip made of water.

She cracked it in the air, shutting the children up, "THAT is enough."

The three bowed in agreement, settling down, as the teacher turned back to the king.

Curry frowned, "Look, I already told your guppies, I don't want to be your ruler or your king, I don't want anything to do with Atlantis."

"You've made that point clear", the woman nodded, "But are you aware of what is happening below in Atlantis?"

Arthur's face tightened, "I know that my….mother is down there, ruling things and what not."

Mera's eyes widened in fear and surprise, her students having the same awkward, distressed look on their faces.

"My lord...Queen Atlanna passed on to the reef beyond."

Arthur was surprised and also...a bit heartbroken. He never knew his mother and for years of his life, he thought that she was a dead-beat queen who being a ruler more than she did her own family. One of the reasons he never wanted to return was because of her. But now, now that he knew that he would never be able to speak to her…

Arthur gulped, "So...who's in charge now?"

"Currently, the position of ruler has been taken by Orm'arius", Mera answered.

Arthur snickered, trying to ignore the recent revelation, "Orm? What in-Who the hell is this guy?"

"The son of Marius and Atlanna", Tula glared, "Your brother."

Once again, a look of surprise fell upon Arthur's face, "I...I have a brother?"

"A half-brother", Mera explained, "Born six years after you in the Kingdom and raised as our prince."

"Um..", Arthur groaned, trying to comprehend what was occurring , "I can't believe this, okay. So, why don't you just allow him to be king?"

"Atlantean tradition states that the eldest must be ruler, which is you", Mera stated, "Orm himself has also stated that he'd rather you be king than him."

"Oh wow, I guess that makes two sons who don't want to have jackshit to do with running your little home!", Arthur sarcastically smiled.

In the blink of an eye, Mera's whip smacked Arthur straight in the face, causing him to flip into the air and crash on his back a few feet away. Mera walked forward and looked down at the man.

"Do not take this lightly, my king", she growled, "You may not be from there but it is still in your blood and you must return for your people!"

"Let's get one thing straight", Arthur groaned, "You...You aren't my people. You think that because my mom is Atlantean that makes me one?! I don't want this burden of leading a group of people who I barely know! A job that I will completely suck at! I don't want that!"

"Oh, yes, because the humans, you clearly care about them more!", Garth sarcastically spoke up, "Is that why you're completely alone and constantly move around the land? Explain that to me."

"Garth, be calm", Tula stated, placing her hand on the boy's tattooed arm tenderly. It didn't go unnoticed by Arthur that at that moment, Kaldur turned away awkwardly, looking at the two with a sense of...longing?

The boy inhaled and exhaled angrily before stomping away down the alley, the young girl following him. Kaldur watched as they left and turned to his teacher, wondering what to do.

As Arthur got up, Mera looked down at the ground in deep thought, "...Your mother was not the…'dead-beat' that you think of her as. She was a beautiful woman and a brave ruler. She had given all that she had to the kingdom to keep it safe from enemies. She accepted all Atlanteans for who they were and wanted to see her home grow and expand to do greater things. And most of all...she wanted to see you again. To raise you herself, along with Orm. To see you spread your knowledge of the world of man with others. To see you at her place as ruler...even if others didn't believe in you."

Arthur looked at the woman with a look of pity and shame. The words that this woman spoke to him about his mother were...different from how he pictured her. They were praising her but unlike his father, who glorified his mother constantly, Mera made her seem both grand but also, ironically, human. But this was an entire kingdom of people, a world where the only interaction between them and humans were through pirate attacks from the days of old. How could he help them?

"I...I'm sorry, Mera", Arthur sighed, "...I can't do this."

Mera sighed but nodded, "I shall inform your brother of this decision." The woman began to turn around and walk away before looking back and speaking, "At the very least, go to the ocean. For your own sake."

The redhead and her youngest student then walked off down the alley, no doubt returning home.

Leaving Arthur alone on the street.

…

Central City, Missouri.

Down the streets of the city, a bolt of pure energy ripped straight down the road, wind rushing everywhere and lightning striking the asphalt. Whatever was running down the road was too bright and too fast to even see. Some screamed once the object passed by while others clapped and applauded.

It zoomed straight past a police car and the men inside began to shout at it, preparing to pursue the object. Before they could even start the car, the object already disappeared in a blast of light, moving too fast for anyone to even see.

Barry laughed childishly as he ran across town at an impossible speed. From his perspective, he was running through a tunnel of pure energy, lightning and light particles flying everywhere around him, occasionally crashing into the wiring holding his suit together.

Ahead of him was a large research building standing tall and proud. The top was scorched and parts of it were crumbled, as though a giant accident occurred. Even then, no matter the disasters that happened, the S.T.A.R. Labs facility of Central City would continue to stand tall and proud...hopefully.

The speedster began to slow down once he entered the building, running through the halls at a lessened but still incredible speed. His armor smoked and his feet sparked as he entered the main office of the lab, where all the action was.

Inside the lab were two adults working at a large computer table. Computers were messily placed everywhere as in the center of the room was a grey mannequin, where the speedster usually placed his suit. Handmade machines and random scrap parts covered the floor, as the marks of the accident were still evident. The two scientists were busy looking over data when the man in red arrived. One was a young woman with short brown hair and light skin. The other was a latino man with long, black hair and a big smile on his face.

Barry smiled as the young man known as Cisco Ramon ran up and high-fived him.

"And once again, Snart and Rory have been taken down!", Barry smiled.

"Flash: 1! Rogues: 0!", Cisco laughed, "Now that's what I'm talking about!"

"And you're sure Cold's not gonna rat you out to the cops?", the woman named Caitlin spoke up, concerned, "You may've made that deal with him before, but he always ends up coming back."

"Snart's not crazy enough for that, Caitlin!", Barry smiled, "Well..okay, he's definitely crazy but not THAT crazy."

In a split second, it looked like a bolt of lightning struck straight into the mannequin when really, it was just Barry changing out of his uniform at super speed and placing the uniform on the mannequin.

The boy was young, clearly in his early twenties, with long, curly, black hair and a boyish face. He wore a red hoodie over a black shirt with the S.T.A.R. Labs logo embellished on it.

"We really gotta fix that suit, Cisco", Barry pointed out, "Those running clothes aren't gonna be enough to protect me!"

"Already told you, man", the scientist explained, "This place is running low on high-tech materials and unless you can pull us some moolah out of the speed force…"

"We're already running low on funding as it and the other facilities aren't exactly willing to stick their necks out for us", Caitlin explained, "And if we don't find anyone willing to finance our facility.."

"Then we can just kiss our paychecks byebye!", Cisco joked, before turning to Caitlin and genuinely asking, "Do we even get paid anymore?"

Barry chuckled. Ever since the beginning, these two have been by his side, teaching him about his powers and helping him stop whatever came at him. Most important of all, they were his friends.

"Ah, Mr. Allen, good work today with the Rogues."

 _Oh no,_ Barry thought to himself. He turned around to see an aging man with spiky black hair and glasses rolling towards him in a wheelchair.

Dr. Harrison Wells, the head of the facility and the one who brought Barry to S.T.A.R. Labs.

And the one who may have killed Barry's mother.

The man had an unnerving smile on his face, seemingly calm and open but also as if he was smiling at some inside joke. A very messed up inside joke.

"Oh, thank you, Dr. Wells", Barry smiled awkwardly, trying to hide his anxiety, "Wasn't a problem!"

"I could tell", the older man smiled, "Only took you three minutes to take down the duo, new record."

"I know, right! It was awesoooo-", he stopped when he noticed Barry and Cailtin's frustrated glares, " *Ahem!* It was cool."

"Now, Cisco, Caitlin, were you able to track down the whereabouts of Mr. Snart & Rory?", Wells asked.

"Um, no, sir", Caitlin admitted, "Unfortunately, they escaped before the police could arrive."

"Well, that's a shame", Wells nodded, "However, look on the bright side. It'll delay both their own activity and the activity of their gang."

"Yeah, like the Rogues are really gonna stop messing stuff up for us now that Icebox and Barbeque are on the run", Barry rolled his eyes.

"Anyways, carry on with your work", Wells smiled, rolling away to do...whatever. Barry cautiously walked over to his friends, making sure that their boss couldn't hear them.

The hero whispered, "So, did you find anything out about him?"

"So far, no", Cisco answered, "But I think Joe and I have an idea where to start looking for answers."

"C'mon, you two", Caitlin said, "Are you sure about this one? I mean, this is our boss, our friend!"

"Maybe that's the reason why we haven't been able to do much about this", Barry spoke, "Maybe we're too distracted because of our friendship with him."

Barry looked down at the watch on his arm, "Crap, I gotta go! Movie night at Joe's! Catch you guys tomorrow!"

A blast of lightning erupted as the man bolted straight out of the lab back home.

Cisco looked over to his partner, "...You think Oliver can lend us money?"

The doctor covered her face in frustration.

...

Star City, Oregon.

The archers and the canary returned to their base in their civilian identities, exiting the elevator and entering their hideout.

It was located below a dance club, which made it difficult to sneak into as the club was packed at the moment. Luckily, the guests were too busy going insane to notice them.

In their civilian identities, the green archer as a bearded man in his thirties, with light brown hair, the canary was a young woman with brown hair, and the red archer was a red-headed teenager around the age of fifteen or sixteen.

The base of the team, known as the Quiver, had computers everywhere, all monitoring activity within the city. The blue lighting surrounding the main table of the room created an almost futuristic look. Empty mannequins were hung up where the uniforms are placed.

In front of them were two people, a muscular, middle-aged man named John Diggle and a spectacled woman named Felicity Smoak.

"Oh hey!", Felicity smiled in an incredibly positive manner, "What's up, guys! Another awesome night for Team Arrow?"

She faltered when she saw Oliver's glaring face and the awkward looks on Roy and Dinah's faces, "Orrr I'm gonna guess someone *cough!* Roy *cough!* screwed up."

"Actually, it was her fault this time", Roy pointed at Dinah before noticing the glare from the two older members.

"Roy, you already got an arrow to the leg from Oliver, I don't think you want a punch to the face from Dinah", Diggle advised the teenager, who slowly edged away from the elder heroes.

"That sounds like the best option", Felicity agreed, once again beginning to ramble, "Unless you're into getting punched, which I won't judge but I should probably recommend-"

"Felicity", Diggle spoke up.

"Shutting up now", she whispered.

"Dinah", Oliver turned, "A word?"

The two walked over to the back of the base, facing one another a few feet apart.

"Dinah, how many times have I told you about this?", the archer said in an intense, slightly nervous tone.

"I want to say the twenty-eighth", Dinah sarcastically said, "Look, if you don't want me following you guys around and saving your asses when you're in trouble, fine, but that doesn't mean that I'll stop being the Canary."

"Dinah, this isn't some silly game", Oliver warned, "I get that you want to play the hero and all, but you can't just keep showing up during my fights."

Dinah scoffed, "Queen, I came here on my own free will and, need I remind you, I've been the one saving you idiots constantly."

"...Fair enough, but the deal was that I take my side of the city and you take yours. Simple as that!", Oliver warned.

"Yeah, that deal kind of fell apart the day that one of your idiot mistakes nearly doomed the city", Dinah pointed out.

"I had it under control!...I sort of had it under control!"

"If having it 'under control' means 'having an old guy ready to slit your throat and me conveniently showing up to help you', then yes. Great job, Richie Rich."

Oliver groaned. For a few weeks now, this newcomer has been taking down his hits. Plans he thought out meticulously going down the drain in mere seconds. And the only reason why he even put up with any of this was because-

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

The two vigilantes heard the screaming coming from above and turned to one another.

"That can't be good", Dinah remarked.

…

Veld, Belgium.

Diana landed in the city, tired after such a long flight. The city was near empty, the night sky hanging overhead as most of the city was asleep. She looked around to make sure that no one saw her and began to walk around, letting her thoughts flow through her.

She recognized so much of the city and also so little of it. The last time she was here, the city was completely destroyed, poisonous gas and bombs killing the entire population.

All because of her.

If she had ignored the warnings given to her, if she had gone by her instinct, maybe the people who used to live here would've survived. Maybe like the Egyptians or the Greeks, they would be a culture constantly taken down but rebuilt time and time again. But now, there was no way of changing the past.

Diana sighed and tried to clear her mind of her recent troubles. So far, the world has been angered by her presence, even the people she was meant to protect disliked her. This service was difficult as it is but this only made things harder.

Eventually, she ended up at the Menin Gate, the names of the deceased etched on the walls. She began recognizing some of the names featured and remembering what happened to them.

That's when she saw one of the names listed, the name of an American pilot fighting for the British. The name of the hero who saved millions from a toxic death. The one who opened Diana's eyes to the world of man.

Steve Trevor, captain of the UK Army Air Service, spy for British Intelligence, and the love of Diana's life.

Or was the love of her life.

She remembered the way they talked with one another. How they wanted to help as many people as they could. How they wanted to stop more wars from happening.

How he kept asking her one thing. The one thing that she always wanted an answer to.

 _Is it nice to be like one of them? To be a god?_

In a fit of rage, she punched the ground, causing a minor tremor that shook the earth. Sighing, she wiped her eyes and slowly walked out of the memorial, taking to the sky and returning to Washington.

…

Metropolis, Delaware.

On the rooftop of his apartment , the alien was face-timing on his laptop with someone close to his heart, the only person he knew who could understand what he was going through.

His cousin.

"Kara, I just don't know what to do right now", Clark sighed, "I mean, everybody's loving me right now and it's nice to be out in the open, but I just feel so…"

"Alone?", the young, spectacled, blonde-haired teen responded, "Trust me, I know the feeling, Kal."

"How've you been holding up on the other side of the country?"

"Well, the program that I'm working with has been good to me so far", Kara chuckled, "Though the woman I serve is... quite the person."

"At least you have a job", Clark laughed.

"Yes, the Danvers said that it would help me...adjust...Wait, aren't you starting that job tomorrow at the...news place?"

"The Daily Planet. Yeah, about that…", Clark awkwardly said, "I don't know if I can do it."

"WHAT?! What are you talking about?!"

Clark winced as his super hearing and her shouting collided together to form a painful reaction.

"Kara, now that I'm the 'Superman', I can't just walk outside and meet other people!", he explained, "I mean, what if they recognize me?!"

"You wear the coat, right?"

"Oh yes, a jacket is really going to hide my identity!", Clark rolled his eyes, "I just...don't want people to look at me differently or go after Ma and Pa."

"Well, what about that trick I taught you?", Kara asked.

The trick in question was a method that Clark tried to test out to conceal his identity. The ship he crash-landed on morphed his DNA so that he could resemble a human so he tested the extent of the transformation to make himself thinner and smaller. The problem: it barely worked and only lasted a few hours.

"It's not gonna work, Kara", Clark stated, "It barely worked before and I doubt I can pull it off for my entire career."

"Worth a try, Kal", Kara stated.

Clark groaned, rubbing his eyes. He didn't think it would actually work, but he didn't want to be stuck in this city alone for the rest of his life. He might as well try to fit in.

"Okay, I'll...I'll try it out", Clark sighed.

"Perfect!", Kara smiled, "Anyways, I need to go now. I don't want Miss Grant to murder me tomorrow morning!"

"Adios, city girl"

"See you around, farmboy."

...

Central City, Missouri.

At the West household, the rom-com they were watching finally ended, Joe West shutting off the TV.

"Finally, the nightmare is over", Joe sighed.

Next to him was the young couple themselves, Iris West and Eddie Thawne. Eddie was young, blonde, bearded man with an innocent smile and his arm wrapped around his girlfriend's waist. Iris was a young woman with light brown skin with curly black hair and a purple coat.

Iris laughed, "Dad, you were asleep through the entire thing. Don't act like it was that bad!"

Joe jokingly acted like he was scared, "That doesn't make the pain go away!"

Eddie chuckled, "C'mon, Mr. West, I liked it honestly."

Barry, who was sitting on the floor, looked up, "Ed, only you would enjoy it."

"HA! Barry, aren't you the guy who dragged us to that Star Trek convention in Coast City?", Eddie smiled.

"Ooh, low blow!", Barry pretended to be hurt, laughing.

Iris looked down at her phone and her eyes widened, "Ooh, boy, it's late. Sorry, folks, but the incredible Iris West must leave now!"

"Alright", Joe chuckled, hugging her goodbye, "Take care, sweetie."

The couple waved and walked out the door, leaving only the cop and the vigilante in the house. Joe frowned once he saw the spilled popcorn littering the floor, caused by Joe knocking it over while sleeping.

Joe sighed, "Barr?"

"On it!", the speedster perked up. Suddenly, the house was filled with lightning and light particles as the boy sped around the couch, picking up the scraps and rushing over to the kitchen to wash off the bowl. He popped right back next to Joe, who was just staring with wonder.

The older man laid back and chuckled with joy, "Alright, I could get used to this now."

"HA! Do I look like a glorified vacuum to you, Joe?", Barry smiled, "Well, has anything cropped with the investigation?"

Joe's face darkened, "So far, nothing's come up. Cisco and I have been planning on taking the case outside of Central City, head straight to where the 'accident' with Wells and his wife happened."

"You know I could just pop us both right over there in less than a few minutes", Barry pointed out.

"I don't have enough time to list the problems with that", Joe muttered, "Don't worry, Barry. We're gonna find out soon enough what's going on."

"That would be nice", Barry grinned, "So, how's Wally doing?"

"Pretty good", Joe nodded, "He's doing good in Keystone, enjoying eighth grade."

"Joe, I'm telling you, no one likes middle school. He better be happy he's almost out of there!"

Wally was the son of Iris's younger brother, who was living with Francine, the ex-wife of Joe. The family didn't learn about him until he was twelve but they loved him just the same, even Barry treated him like a brother. Even though Joe loved him, he didn't want the kid to come to Central City yet, not with all of the metahuman insanity going down.

Which reminded Barry of a certain topic, "So...the Superman."

Joe rolled his eyes, "I knew you'd bring it up."

"C'mon, Joe! Isn't it cool?!", Barry smiled, "The Blur of Smallville or the Blur of Metropolis, whatever it used to call itself, it finally came out! He's finally showing up and taking charge!"

"Barry, those were just rumors! It's probably just a dfferent guy!"

" 'Just a different guy?!' The stories of a guy, running at super speed in a blue and red jacket, that all happens to be a big coincidence?!"

Joe shrugged, "I mean, c'mon, metas didn't start showing up until last year! It's probably just another metahuman!"

"Just ano-what does that mean?", Barry tilted his head.

"I mean, he's acting like you and doing the same stuff as you", Joe explained, "But...well…"

"What is it?", Barry asked.

Joe awkwardly rubbed the back of his head, "..When have any of the metas we've met...have been good?"

"What?!", Barry shouted, "What are you talking about?! We've met good metas before!"

"Like who?"

"What about Bette or Ronnie and Professor Stein or…that woman in Washington, the Wonder?...Or me?"

"Barr...this is hard for me to say, but really compare that to the number of metas we saw that weren't exactly on the sane side."

"All of whom were bad guys from the get-go, Joe!", Barry scoffed and began to pick up his stuff.

Joe sighed, holding the boy's shoulder, "Wait...Barry, hang on, I…*Sigh* Barry, I'm..I'm sorry for even bringing it up. I'm...I'm sorry."

Barry sighed and turned around, "Joe, it's..it's okay. It's just...I don't know, lately, I've just been feeling...overwhelmed."

The boy sat down, "I mean, I have you, I've the team, but, it feels like so much is happening. The other speedster, the Rogues, solving the murder...It just feels...I don't know."

"Barry", Joe said, "It's not like this job was ever going to be easy."

"I know."

"Barr..you know that if you have any problems or if you feel like it's too much...you do know that you can always come to us, right?"

Barry sighed, "I know, Joe...I just hope it's enough."

…

The Batcave, Gotham City, New Jersey.

The Batman continued to type away at his computer, various reports popping up on the screen. They were coming in from all across the globe, from so many different countries. And all of them were about the same topic.

Metahuman sightings, from right here in Gotham to all the way to Tokyo, from the deserts of Kahndaq to the tundras of Russia. Reports of men flying through the sky, fast as lightning and stronger than professional wrestlers. Gods walking the Earth. And Bruce knew what power could do to even the best of people.

"Master Bruce", the butler, Alfred, appeared from behind him, "Should I inform the others that you're not going to be coming up anytime soon?"

"Don't bother Alfred. I'm sure they already know", the billionaire retorted.

"Sir, I'm going to guess that this is the reason why you've been acting odd recently", Alfred asked, "This metahuman phenomenon?"

"Alfred, these things have been around for years, centuries, and yet it's taken the explosion of a mad scientist to open the world's eyes, to open my eyes."

"I'll admit, even I'm surprised that you didn't have a plan for this."

Bruce groaned, "If these living gods, these beings of incredible power if they ever turn to the other side, cross the line over, what do we do? What is our plan?"

Alfred shrugged, "I suppose bowing to our new overlords isn't an acceptable response?"

"I need to be at my best, Alfred", Bruce explained, "At my very best. Do things faster, take down criminals harder, make sure that if the worst happens, when the worst happens, I will be able to fight."

"And I'm assuming that going out without your partners is how you'll achieve that?", the butler guessed.

"If I'm ever on my own, if you, Dick, Barbara, if you're gone for any reason whatsoever, I need to be sure that I can finish the job on my own."

Alfred shook his head, "Master Bruce, you do realize how bad that excuse was right?"

Bruce looked up, surprised by the response.

Alfred continued on, clearly angry but still speaking in a calm tone, "Sir, I know that when you began this crusade, you never expected help, but you cannot simply ignore them because you feel as though loneliness is the better option."

"I never said it was."

"I've lived with you for most of your life and yet you doubt I understand what this is about?"

"Alfred, this is bigger than them and you and me. If I'm not ready, then this world..."

Alfred slowly began to calm down, resigned to his boss's insanity, "Sir...just try to let them in...for my own sake, if anything."

Bruce turned around, not responding. Finally, Alfred gave up and walked off, tired of this nonsense. Bruce rubbed his forehead, trying to regain his focus. All the insanity of this city, it's been weighing on him ever since he began this. These kids, they could help ease the load. But that would only make both of their lives worse and that was not something Bruce would do to anyone he cared for.

Upstairs, above the cave, were the two children, who were talking in Dick's room.

"AARGH! I can't take this!", Barbara screamed, "I mean, how are you doing this, man?! Putting up with this craziness, handling this high and mighty crap all the time?!"

"After a while, you kind of get used to it", Dick explained.

"I mean, he only told me who he was a few months ago! And we both know how long I've been with you guys!", Barbara shouted, "At least you knew from the get-go!"

"Yeah, but not because he wanted me to", Dick rolled his eyes, remembering how he stumbled upon the cave by mere chance as a ten-year old boy.

"*Sigh* Dick, it feels like you and Alfred are the only people making this job at least a little fun."

"Babs, it's not about fun."

"I know, I know, it's just...all of the crap we're going through, all of the monsters we've fought, all of the baddies we've fought side-by-side with Bruce, and yet he's still treating us like kids!"

"Babs, we are kids", the boy blatantly pointed out, smirking. The redhead glared down at him, which caused him to awkwardly turn away.

"We're not even the only kid heroes out there and yet, he still thinks we're not helpful! Who does that?!", Barbara shouted.

"Babs, it's...it's more complicated than that. I mean, you know what happened to him."

"And he knows what happened to us!", Barbara shouted, "My mom and your…."

The girl faltered when she saw the look on the boy's face, quickly changing her tone, "...Dick, I-"

"It's fine, I get it", he said, "I know how crazy that guy can be and how he can drive you insane, but trust me, it's worth it, Babs."

"...Is it?"

"AAAAAAAARRRRRGGGHHHH!"

Both the kids and the billionaire heard the screaming as they ran to see where it came from. The kids were surprised to see Bruce here before them, then remembering that they really shouldn't have been surprised.

"ALFRED!", Dick shouted.

"HANG ON, ALFRED!", Bruce shouted, dashing forward.

That's when they saw the thing on Alfred's face.

It looked like a purple starfish, latched right onto Alfred's face and pulsing. Slime squirted out of it as the butler twitched on the floor, trying to scratch it off.

"JESUS CHRIST!", Dick screamed, running forward.

"YOU TWO, STAY BACK! ALFRED, STAY STILL!", Bruce shouted, jumping onto the older man's body and trying to pull the monster off of his face. Unfortunately, the thing wasn't letting go anytime soon, sticking right on.

Then, on the back of the beast's body, a red eye opened up, the beast hissing at Bruce. Rather than scream or be afraid, Bruce was focused on getting it off of his friend. One of the beast's tentacles came off and wrapped around the man's arms, it's strength being incredible.

It looked like it would pull Bruce down but instead, Bruce flicked his wrist, a small batarang coming out. He flipped it up into the air and caught it in his hand, quickly slicing off the tentacles. Green goo flew around everywhere, giving Bruce the chance to grab at the thing's underbelly and pull it right off of Alfred's face.

The monster landed on the ground and the batarang was quickly thrown straight through its back and sticking it to the floor, the beast slowly dying.

Alfred began to vomit out green gunk, gasping for air, as Bruce tried to help him up.

…

Arthur stared at the bay, looking forward with feelings of regret and fear going through his mind. He could've helped the Atlanteans. He could've gone with them and taken over from his brother. Hell, he could've actually had met his brother!

All of these years, his mother stayed down below waiting, wanting him to show up. And what'd he do? He stayed on the land, not out of love for humans, but out of hatred for his mom. Out of fear of the royalty in his blood and the power in his veins.

He was alone, he always was alone. His father, was gone. Vulko, his mentor, he left behind. His friend, Dr. Shin, he betrayed him. Arthur had no one and he knew it.

There was only one thing that he had. One thing that actually meant anything to him.

And he needed to go back to it. He needed to feel it around him. He needed the peace.

Slowly, he began to take off his trenchcoat and his shirt, revealing his tattooed body and muscular chest. He began to slowly walk across the beach, the feeling of cool sand under his feet and the gentle breeze blowing his hair.

The salt water began to touch his toes, causing a shiver to go down his spine. But he could not stop now. He slowly walked forward, the water beginning to touch his chest, and eventually, submerging his entire body.

He eventually stopped walking and slowly began to crouch down, sitting on the sea floor and looking out into the watery darkness ahead.

A smile began to cross his face as he felt the water move through his body, flowing through his mind. His tattoos began to glow as he felt his heartbeat slow down and his soul calm down.

He was finally at peace for once in so many years.

Of course that would be the moment when he was attacked.

A hissing noise was heard by Arthur as he looked forward into the deep, his eyes picking up nothing but a few reefs, some scattered fish, and a couple of starfish resting on the seafloor.

Guess which one attacked him?

Out of nowhere, the starfish launched themselves at Arthur, who quickly pulled up his arms and tried to defend himself. The creatures wriggled around in his hands, their barbed tentacles snatching at him.

He tried to use his powers on him to no avail. He growled and tried to come up with another alternative to the problem at hand.

As more starfish began to appear, Arthur turned to his side and began to telepathically call out for help. Thankfully, help arrived in the form of a pack of sharks and a horde of crustaceans, who began to crawl over him and snap at the starfish.

Once they were weakened enough Arthur was able to pull them right off, watching as his allies destroyed what was left of the monsters.

When they were finished, his fish friends turned towards Arthur, as if they were somehow acknowledging him. Then, a single word came out from their thoughts.

 _King._

They quickly swam off into the dark, leaving the hybrid behind.

…

Team Arrow ran upstairs to where the screaming was coming from, all in civilian uniform.

"Uh...Ollie?", Roy stuttered, looking at the chaos ensuing ahead.

Starfish creatures were attacking the dancers in the club, as teenagers and young adults ran around in panic.

Felicity gulped, "Okay, so, the starfish revolution's began, really, really didn't see that coming."

Oliver ran up ahead, shouting at the guests, "EVERYONE, STAY CALM AND EXIT THE BUILDING!"

"Just when the world couldn't get any weirder", Diggle sighed.

"Well, are we just gonna stand around and watch?", Dinah snarled, running forward and trying to remove the creatures off of the faces of the guests. Unfortunately, even with her training, they were too strong. Suddenly, the person the beast attached to began to twitch uncontrollably.

Diggle pulled out of his pistol and began firing at any of the beasts flying towards them, shooting them down at a rapid pace. Unfortunately, the ones he missed were able to attach themselves to the humans.

Suddenly, the human that Dinah was helping grabbed her arm in a hostile manner.

"What the-?", Dinah was swiftly thrown across the room by the person, landing on her feet right next to the others.

The guests who were attacked began to calmly stand up, the eyes on the starfishes' backs beginning to open up and the humans' mouths beginning to growl.

"This isn't going to end well", Oliver muttered to himself before charging forward. As guests began to attack the team, the team began to fight back, taking them down at rapid efficiency.

However, even when they were pinned down on the ground, they still struggled to fight back, not allowing themselves to stop fighting. That's when Dinah came up with an idea.

"EVERYONE, COVER YOUR EARS!", she shouted before unleashing her abilities. The team quickly covered their ears as her scream vibrated through the room, crashing windows and causing the host humans to twitch with pain. Green goo squirted everywhere as the starfish began to slide off of the host's faces, slowly dying.

Oliver looked at Dinah and nodded, approving of that move. He looked down to observe one of the starfish, cautiously making sure that they were dead. The creature began to gurgle, sounding as if it was speaking. Only one word sounded comprehensive.

"... _Conquer...Conquer…"_

The creature finally stood still, clearly dead. The team overlooked the unconscious bodies of the host humans, who were thankfully alive. Roy looked around, clearly afraid.

"Jesus, of course metas would finally show up here", Roy gulped.

"We're gonna have to make some calls", Oliver frowned.


End file.
